22 results on '"Little CTS"'
Search Results
2. Upper Toarcian (Lower Jurassic) marine gastropods from the Cleveland Basin, England: systematics, palaeobiogeography and contribution to biotic recovery from the early Toarcian extinction event
- Author
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Ferrari, M, Little, CTS, and Atkinson, JW
- Abstract
Here we describe a new upper Toarcian (Lower Jurassic) marine gastropod fauna from rocks of the Cleveland Basin exposed on the North Yorkshire coast of England. The fossil assemblage consists of 16 species, of which three are new: Katosira ? bicarinata sp. nov., Turritelloidea stepheni sp. nov. and Striactaenonina elegans sp. nov. Four species are described in open nomenclature as Tricarilda ? sp., Jurilda sp., Cylindrobullina sp. and Cossmannina sp. The other species have previously been described: Coelodiscus minutus (Schübler in Zieten), Procerithium quadrilineatum (Römer), Pseudokatosira undulata (Benz in von Zieten), Palaeorissoina aff. acuminata (Gründel), Pietteia unicarinata (Hudleston), Globularia cf. canina (Hudleston), Striactaeonina cf. richterorum Schulbert & Nützel, Striactaenonina aff. tenuistriata (Hudleston) and Sulcoactaeon sedgvici (Phillips). Most of these species are the earliest records of their respective genera and show palaeobiogeographical connections with contemporary gastropod associations from other regions of Europe and South America. The taxonomic composition of the upper Toarcian Cleveland Basin gastropod assemblage differs substantially from the faunas of the upper Pliensbachian and lower Toarcian Tenuicostatum Zone, showing the strong effect of the early Toarcian mass extinction event on the marine gastropod communities in the basin. Only a few gastropod species are shared between the late Toarcian faunas and the much more diverse Aalenian gastropod faunas in the Cleveland Basin, suggesting that there was a facies control on gastropod occurrences at that time. This is also a potential explanation for the taxonomic differences between the late Toarcian gastropod faunas in the Cleveland Basin and those in France, and northern and southern Germany.
- Published
- 2021
3. Palaeoecology and palaeoenvironments of the Middle Jurassic to lowermost Cretaceous Agardhfjellet Formation (Bathonian-Ryazanian), Spitsbergen, Svalbard
- Author
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Koevoets, MK, Hammer, Ø, and Little, CTS
- Abstract
We describe the invertebrate assemblages in the Middle Jurassic to lowermost Cretaceous of the Agardhfjellet Formation present in the DH2 rock core material of Central Spitsbergen (Svalbard). Previous studies of the Agardhfjellet Formation do not accurately reflect the distribution of invertebrates throughout the unit as they were limited to sampling discontinuous intervals at outcrop. The rock core material shows the benthic bivalve fauna to reflect dysoxic, but not anoxic environments for the Oxfordian – lower Kimmeridgian interval with sporadic monospecific assemblages of epifaunal bivalves, and more favourable conditions in the Volgian, with major increases in abundance and diversity of Hartwellia sp. assemblages. Overall, the new information from cores show that abundance, diversity and stratigraphic continuity of the fossil record in the Upper Jurassic of Spitsbergen are considerably higher than indicated in outcrop studies. The inferred life positions and feeding habits of the benthic fauna refine the understanding of the depositional environments of the Agardhfjellet Formation. The occurrence pattern of the bivalve genera is correlated with published studies of Arctic localities in East Greenland and Northern Siberia and shows similarities in palaeoecology with the former but not the latter. Ammonite biostratigraphy is used as a tool to date bivalve assemblage overturning events to help identify similar changes in other sections.
- Published
- 2019
4. Identification of fossil worm tubes from Phanerozoic hydrothermal vents and cold seeps
- Author
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Georgieva, MN, Little, CTS, Watson, JS, Sephton, MA, Ball, AD, and Glover, AG
- Abstract
One of the main limitations to understanding the evolutionary history of hydrothermal vent and cold seep communities is the identification of tube fossils from ancient deposits. Tube-dwelling annelids are some of the most conspicuous inhabitants of modern vent and seep ecosystems, and ancient vent and seep tubular fossils are usually considered to have been made by annelids. However, the taxonomic affinities of many tube fossils from vents and seeps are contentious, or have remained largely undetermined due to difficulties in identification. In this study, we make a detailed chemical (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and pyrolysis gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry) and morphological assessment of modern annelid tubes from six families, and fossil tubes (seven tube types from the Cenozoic, 12 Mesozoic and four Palaeozoic) from hydrothermal vent and cold seep environments. Characters identified from these investigations were used to explore for the first time the systematics of ancient vent and seep tubes within a cladistic framework. Results reveal details of the compositions and ultrastructures of modern tubes, and also suggest that two types of tubes from ancient vent localities were made by the annelid family Siboglinidae, which often dominates modern vents and seeps. Our results also highlight that several vent and seep tube fossils formerly thought to have been made by annelids cannot be assigned an annelid affiliation with any certainty. The findings overall improve the level of quality control with regard to interpretations of fossil tubes, and, most importantly, suggest that siboglinids likely occupied Mesozoic vents and seeps, greatly increasing the minimum age of the clade relative to earlier molecular estimates.
- Published
- 2019
5. Evidence for early life in Earth's oldest hydrothermal vent precipitates
- Author
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Dodd, Matthew S., Papineau, Dominic, Grenne, Tor, Slack, Jf, Rittner, Martin, Pirajno, Franco, O'Neil, Jonathan, and Little, Cts
- Abstract
Although it is not known when or where life on Earth began, some of the earliest habitable environments may have been submarine-hydrothermal vents. Here we describe putative fossilized microorganisms that are at least 3,770 million and possibly 4,280 million years old in ferruginous sedimentary rocks, interpreted as seafloor-hydrothermal vent-related precipitates, from the Nuvvuagittuq belt in Quebec, Canada. These structures occur as micrometre-scale haematite tubes and filaments with morphologies and mineral assemblages similar to those of filamentous microorganisms from modern hydrothermal vent precipitates and analogous microfossils in younger rocks. The Nuvvuagittuq rocks contain isotopically light carbon in carbonate and carbonaceous material, which occurs as graphitic inclusions in diagenetic carbonate rosettes, apatite blades intergrown among carbonate rosettes and magnetite–haematite granules, and is associated with carbonate in direct contact with the putative microfossils. Collectively, these observations are consistent with an oxidized biomass and provide evidence for biological activity in submarine-hydrothermal environments more than 3,770 million years ago.
- Published
- 2017
6. Evidence for early life in Earth’s oldest hydrothermal vent precipitates
- Author
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Dodd, MS, Papineau, D, Grenne, T, Slack, JF, Rittner, M, Pirajno, F, O'Neil, J, and Little, CTS
- Abstract
Although it is not known when or where life on Earth began, some of the earliest habitable environments may have been submarine-hydrothermal vents. Here we describe putative fossilized microorganisms that are at least 3,770 million and possibly 4,280 million years old in ferruginous sedimentary rocks, interpreted as seafloor-hydrothermal vent-related precipitates, from the Nuvvuagittuq belt in Quebec, Canada. These structures occur as micrometre-scale haematite tubes and filaments with morphologies and mineral assemblages similar to those of filamentous microorganisms from modern hydrothermal vent precipitates and analogous microfossils in younger rocks. The Nuvvuagittuq rocks contain isotopically light carbon in carbonate and carbonaceous material, which occurs as graphitic inclusions in diagenetic carbonate rosettes, apatite blades intergrown among carbonate rosettes and magnetite–haematite granules, and is associated with carbonate in direct contact with the putative microfossils. Collectively, these observations are consistent with an oxidized biomass and provide evidence for biological activity in submarine-hydrothermal environments more than 3,770 million years ago.
- Published
- 2017
7. Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous hydrocarbon seep boulders from Novaya Zemlya and their faunas
- Author
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Hryniewicz, K, Hagström, J, Hammer, Ø, Kaim, A, Little, CTS, and Nakrem, HA
- Abstract
The paper describes Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous seep carbonate boulders from the Russian Arctic island of Novaya Zemlya, collected in 1875 by A.E. Nordenskiöld during his expedition to Siberia. The carbonates are significantly depleted in heavy carbon isotopes (δ13C values as low as ca. − 40‰) and show textures typical for carbonates formed under the influence of hydrocarbons, such as fibrous carbonate cements and corrosion cavities. The rocks contain index fossils of Late Oxfordian–Early Kimmeridgian, Late Tithonian (Jurassic) and latest Berriasian–Early Valanginian (Cretaceous) age. The fossil fauna is species rich and dominated by molluscs, with subordinate brachiopods, echinoderms, foraminifera, serpulids and ostracods. Most of the species, including two chemosymbiotic bivalve species, likely belong to the ‘background’ fauna. Only a species of a hokkaidoconchid gastropod, and a possible abyssochrysoid gastropod, can be interpreted as restricted to the seep environment. Other seep faunas with similar taxonomic structure are suggestive of rather shallow water settings, but in case of Novaya Zemlya seep faunas such structure might result also from high northern latitude.
- Published
- 2015
8. Generation of hydrothermal Fe-Si oxyhydroxide deposit on the Southwest Indian Ridge and its implication for the origin of ancient banded iron formations
- Author
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Sun, Z, Li, J, Huang, W, Dong, H, and Little, CTS
- Abstract
Modern hydrothermal Fe-Si oxyhydroxide deposits are now known to be analogues to ancient siliceous iron formations. In this study, samples of Fe-Si oxyhydroxide deposits were collected from hydrothermal field on the Southwest Indian Ridge. An investigation of mineralization in these deposits was carried out based on a series of mineralogical and morphological methods. X-ray diffraction and selected area electron diffraction analysis show that amorphous opal and poorly crystalline ferrihydrite are the major minerals. Furthermore, some typical filament structures detected by scanning electronic microscopy examinations, probably indicating the presence of Fe-oxidizing bacteria (FeOB), are pervasive with the main constituents being Fe, Si, P, and C. We thus believe that chemolithoautotrophic FeOB play a significant role in the formation of Fe oxyhydroxide which can effectively oxidize reduced Fe(II) sourced from hydrothermal fluids. Precipitation of amorphous silica, in contrast, is only a passive process with the Fe oxyhydroxide acting as a template. The distinct microlaminae structure alternating between the Fe-rich and Si-rich bands was observed in our samples for the first time in modern seafloor hydrothermal systems. We propose that its formation was due to the episodic temperature variation of the hydrothermal fluid which controls the biogenic Fe oxyhydroxide formation and passive precipitation of silica in this system. Our results might provide a clue for the formation mechanism of ancient banded iron formations.
- Published
- 2015
9. The palaeoecology of latest Jurassic-earliest Cretaceous hydrocarbon seep carbonates from Spitsbergen, Svalbard
- Author
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Hryniewicz, K, Nakrem, HA, Hammer, Ø, Little, CTS, Kaim, A, Sandy, MR, and Hurum, JA
- Abstract
Latest Jurassic–earliest Cretaceous hydrocarbon seeps from Spitsbergen, Svalbard, are known to contain unusual fauna, lacking most of the species characteristic for roughly coeval seep deposits. This study summarizes and analyses the fauna from 16 seep carbonate bodies from Spitsbergen to explain its composition. The seeps formed in a shallow epicontinental sea with widespread deposition of fine-grained, organic-rich sediments. They are spread over a relatively large area and are positioned roughly in the same interval, indicating seepage over extensive areas of the palaeo-Barents Sea. The seep fauna is very species rich and with low dominance, comprising 54 species, with a composition similar to that of Jurassic–Cretaceous normal-marine environments of other Boreal seas. Seep-restricted fauna is not abundant and is represented by four species only. Hokkaidoconchids and possible siboglinid worm tubes characteristic for high sulphide fluxes are rare. Apart from seep-restricted sulphide-mining lucinid and thyasirid bivalves, chemosymbiosis was also a source of nourishment for background solemyid and nucinellid bivalves, all of which take sulphide from infaunal sources. This all suggests a relatively weak sulphide flux. The high diversity and low dominance of the fauna and significant richness and abundance of background species is typical for shallow water seeps.
- Published
- 2014
10. First evidence of widespread active methane seepage in the Southern Ocean, off the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia
- Author
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Römer, M, Torres, M, Kasten, S, Kuhn, G, Graham, AGC, Mau, S, Little, CTS, Linse, K, Pape, T, Geprägs, P, Fischer, D, Wintersteller, P, Marcon, Y, Rethemeyer, J, Bohrmann, G, and shipboard scientific party ANT‐XXIX/4
- Abstract
An extensive submarine cold-seep area was discovered on the northern shelf of South Georgia during R/V Polarstern cruise ANT-XXIX/4 in spring 2013. Hydroacoustic surveys documented the presence of 133 gas bubble emissions, which were restricted to glacially-formed fjords and troughs. Video-based sea floor observations confirmed the sea floor origin of the gas emissions and spatially related microbial mats. Effective methane transport from these emissions into the hydrosphere was proven by relative enrichments of dissolved methane in near-bottom waters. Stable carbon isotopic signatures pointed to a predominant microbial methane formation, presumably based on high organic matter sedimentation in this region. Although known from many continental margins in the world’s oceans, this is the first report of an active area of methane seepage in the Southern Ocean. Our finding of substantial methane emission related to a trough and fjord system, a topographical setting that exists commonly in glacially-affected areas, opens up the possibility that methane seepage is a more widespread phenomenon in polar and sub-polar regions than previously thought.
- Published
- 2014
11. The morphological diversity of Osedax worm borings (Annelidia: Siboglinidae)
- Author
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Higgs, ND, Glover, AG, Dahlgren, TG, Smith, CR, Fujiwara, Y, Pradillion, F, Johnson, SB, Vrijenhoek, RC, and Little, CTS
- Subjects
fungi - Abstract
Marine worms in the genus Osedax, have specialized ‘root’ tissues used to bore into the bones of decomposing vertebrate skeletons and obtain nutrition. We investigated the borings of nine Osedax species, using micro computed tomography to quantitatively describe the morphology of the borings and provide three-dimensional reconstructions of the space occupied by Osedax root tissues inside the bone. Each Osedax species displayed a consistent boring morphology in any given bone, but these differed between bones. In bones where multiple species coexisted there was limited evidence for spatial niche partitioning by Osedax root tissues inside the bones investigated here. The new morphological data may be applied to Osedax traces in fossil bones, showing that borings can be used to indicate minimum species richness in these bones.
- Published
- 2014
12. Mochras borehole revisited: a new global standard for Early Jurassic earth history
- Author
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Hesselbo, SP, Bjerrum, CJ, Hinnov, LA, MacNiocaill, C, Miller, KG, Riding, JB, van de Schootbrugge, B, Mochras Revisited Science Team, and Little, CTS
- Published
- 2013
13. Worldwide distribution of modiomorphid bivalve genus Caspiconcha in late Mesozoic hydrocarbon seeps
- Author
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Jenkins, RG, Kaim, A, Little, CTS, Iba, Y, Tanabe, K, and Campbell, KA
- Abstract
Exceptionally well preserved specimens of the bivalve mollusc Modiola major were collected from a Lower Cretaceous (Barremian) hydrocarbon seep deposit in northern California. This material, together with the type series of M. major, and various other specimens from Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous seep localities in California, is redescribed and referred to the hydrocarbon seep−restricted modiomorphid genus Caspiconcha. We include also a description of Myoconcha americana because some previous reports have incorrectly synonymized Myoconcha americana with Caspiconcha major. In addition, we report Caspiconcha sp. from a Lower Cretaceous (Albian) hydrocarbon seep from Hokkaido, Japan, and we review all currently described species of Caspiconcha, and other species that probably belong to this genus. We demonstrate that Caspiconcha had a widespread distribution in Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous hydrocarbon seeps, but became rare thereafter, with the last representative occurring in Upper Cretaceous strata of Japan. This macroevolutionary pattern is similar to that observed in the seep−restricted brachiopods. After the decline of Caspiconcha at the end of the Early Cretaceous and its last occurrence in the Campanian, the ecological niche of epifaunal to semi−infaunal seep endemic bivalves was largely vacant and not reoccupied until the Eocene with the appearance of the vesicomyid and bathymodiolin bivalves. The formal placement of M. major into the genus Caspiconcha restricts the fossil record of mytilids at seeps to post−Mesozoic times, and thus there is less discrepancy between the fossil record of chemosynthetic mytilids and their divergence age estimates from molecular data.
- Published
- 2013
14. A new genus of lucinid bivalve from hydrocarbon seeps
- Author
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Gill, FL and Little, CTS
- Abstract
We erect a new genus, Elongatolucina, for distinctive large, elongate lucinid bivalve specimens from Miocene sediments from Venezuela. We interpret Elongatolucina to have had a chemosymbiotic mode of life and it may have been seep−re− stricted. Cryptolucina elassodyseides from Eocene hydrocar− bon seep sites in Washington State, USA is incorporated in Elongatolucina.
- Published
- 2013
15. Fossilized giant sulfide-oxidizing bacteria from the Devonian Hollard Mound seep deposit, Morocco.
- Author
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Smrzka D, Zwicker J, Schulz-Vogt H, Little CTS, Rieder M, Meister P, Gier S, and Peckmann J
- Subjects
- Morocco, Hydrocarbons, Sulfides, Oxidation-Reduction, Ecosystem, Bacteria
- Abstract
The giant sulfide-oxidizing bacteria are particularly prone to preservation in the rock record, and their fossils have been identified in ancient phosphorites, cherts, and carbonates. This study reports putative spherical fossils preserved in the Devonian Hollard Mound hydrocarbon-seep deposit. Based on petrographical, mineralogical, and geochemical evidence the putative microfossils are interpreted as sulfide-oxidizing bacteria similar to the present-day genus Thiomargarita, which is also found at modern hydrocarbon seeps. The morphology, distribution, size, and occurrence of the fossilized cells show a large degree of similarity to their modern counterparts. Some of the spherical fossils adhere to worm tubes analogous to the occurrence of modern Thiomargarita on the tubes of seep-dwelling siboglinid worms. Fluorapatite crystals were identified within the fossilized cell walls, suggesting the intercellular storage of phosphorus analogous to modern Thiomargarita cells. The preservation of large sulfide-oxidizing bacteria was probably linked to changing biogeochemical processes at the Hollard Mound seep or, alternatively, may have been favored by the sulfide-oxidizing bacteria performing nitrate-dependent sulfide oxidation-a process known to induce carbonate precipitation. The presence of sulfide-oxidizing bacteria at a Devonian hydrocarbon seep highlights the similarities of past and present chemosynthesis-based ecosystems and provides valuable insight into the antiquity of biogeochemical processes and element cycling at Phanerozoic seeps., (© 2023 The Authors. Geobiology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
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16. Phylogenetic context of a deep-sea clam (Bivalvia: Vesicomyidae) revealed by DNA from 1 500-year-old shells.
- Author
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Li YX, Zhang Y, Ip JC, Liu J, Chen C, Little CTS, Yokoyama Y, Yasuhara M, and Qiu JW
- Subjects
- Animals, Phylogeny, DNA genetics, Bivalvia genetics
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
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17. Sulfur isotopes of hydrothermal vent fossils and insights into microbial sulfur cycling within a lower Paleozoic (Ordovician-early Silurian) vent community.
- Author
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Georgieva MN, Little CTS, Herrington RJ, Boyce AJ, Zerkle AL, Maslennikov VV, and Glover AG
- Subjects
- Animals, Fossils, Sulfur metabolism, Sulfur Isotopes analysis, Hydrothermal Vents, Microbiota
- Abstract
Symbioses between metazoans and microbes involved in sulfur cycling are integral to the ability of animals to thrive within deep-sea hydrothermal vent environments; the development of such interactions is regarded as a key adaptation in enabling animals to successfully colonize vents. Microbes often colonize the surfaces of vent animals and, remarkably, these associations can also be observed intricately preserved by pyrite in the fossil record of vent environments, stretching back to the lower Paleozoic (Ordovician-early Silurian). In non-vent environments, sulfur isotopes are often employed to investigate the metabolic strategies of both modern and fossil organisms, as certain metabolic pathways of microbes, notably sulfate reduction, can produce large sulfur isotope fractionations. However, the sulfur isotopes of vent fossils, both ancient and recently mineralized, have seldom been explored, and it is not known if the pyrite-preserved vent organisms might also preserve potential signatures of their metabolisms. Here, we use high-resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) to investigate the sulfur isotopes of pyrites from recently mineralized and Ordovician-early Silurian tubeworm fossils with associated microbial fossils. Our results demonstrate that pyrites containing microbial fossils consistently have significantly more negative δ
34 S values compared with nearby non-fossiliferous pyrites, and thus represent the first indication that the presence of microbial sulfur-cycling communities active at the time of pyrite formation influenced the sulfur isotope signatures of pyrite at hydrothermal vents. The observed depletions in δ34 S are generally small in magnitude and are perhaps best explained by sulfur isotope fractionation through a combination of sulfur-cycling processes carried out by vent microbes. These results highlight the potential for using sulfur isotopes to explore biological functional relationships within fossil vent communities, and to enhance understanding of how microbial and animal life has co-evolved to colonize vents throughout geological time., (© 2022 The Authors. Geobiology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)- Published
- 2022
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18. Metabolically diverse primordial microbial communities in Earth's oldest seafloor-hydrothermal jasper.
- Author
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Papineau D, She Z, Dodd MS, Iacoviello F, Slack JF, Hauri E, Shearing P, and Little CTS
- Abstract
The oldest putative fossils occur as hematite filaments and tubes in jasper-carbonate banded iron formations from the 4280- to 3750-Ma Nuvvuagittuq Supracrustal Belt, Québec. If biological in origin, these filaments might have affinities with modern descendants; however, if abiotic, they could indicate complex prebiotic forms on early Earth. Here, we report images of centimeter-size, autochthonous hematite filaments that are pectinate-branching, parallel-aligned, undulated, and containing Fe
2+ -oxides. These microstructures are considered microfossils because of their mineral associations and resemblance to younger microfossils, modern Fe-bacteria from hydrothermal environments, and the experimental products of heated Fe-oxidizing bacteria. Additional clusters of irregular hematite ellipsoids could reflect abiotic processes of silicification, producing similar structures and thus yielding an uncertain origin. Millimeter-sized chalcopyrite grains within the jasper-carbonate rocks have34 S- and33 S-enrichments consistent with microbial S-disproportionation and an O2 -poor atmosphere. Collectively, the observations suggest a diverse microbial ecosystem on the primordial Earth that may be common on other planetary bodies, including Mars.- Published
- 2022
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19. A late Paleoproterozoic (1.74 Ga) deep-sea, low-temperature, iron-oxidizing microbial hydrothermal vent community from Arizona, USA.
- Author
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Little CTS, Johannessen KC, Bengtson S, Chan CS, Ivarsson M, Slack JF, Broman C, Thorseth IH, Grenne T, Rouxel OJ, and Bekker A
- Subjects
- Arizona, Iron analysis, Oceans and Seas, Oxidation-Reduction, Seawater, Temperature, Hydrothermal Vents
- Abstract
Modern marine hydrothermal vents occur in a wide variety of tectonic settings and are characterized by seafloor emission of fluids rich in dissolved chemicals and rapid mineral precipitation. Some hydrothermal systems vent only low-temperature Fe-rich fluids, which precipitate deposits dominated by iron oxyhydroxides, in places together with Mn-oxyhydroxides and amorphous silica. While a proportion of this mineralization is abiogenic, most is the result of the metabolic activities of benthic, Fe-oxidizing bacteria (FeOB), principally belonging to the Zetaproteobacteria. These micro-organisms secrete micrometer-scale stalks, sheaths, and tubes with a variety of morphologies, composed largely of ferrihydrite that act as sacrificial structures, preventing encrustation of the cells that produce them. Cultivated marine FeOB generally require neutral pH and microaerobic conditions to grow. Here, we describe the morphology and mineralogy of filamentous microstructures from a late Paleoproterozoic (1.74 Ga) jasper (Fe-oxide-silica) deposit from the Jerome area of the Verde mining district in central Arizona, USA, that resemble the branching tubes formed by some modern marine FeOB. On the basis of this comparison, we interpret the Jerome area filaments as having formed by FeOB on the deep seafloor, at the interface of weakly oxygenated seawater and low-temperature Fe-rich hydrothermal fluids. We compare the Jerome area filaments with other purported examples of Precambrian FeOB and discuss the implications of their presence for existing redox models of Paleoproterozoic oceans during the "Boring Billion.", (© 2021 The Authors. Geobiology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
- Published
- 2021
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20. Evidence of Vent-Adaptation in Sponges Living at the Periphery of Hydrothermal Vent Environments: Ecological and Evolutionary Implications.
- Author
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Georgieva MN, Taboada S, Riesgo A, Díez-Vives C, De Leo FC, Jeffreys RM, Copley JT, Little CTS, Ríos P, Cristobo J, Hestetun JT, and Glover AG
- Abstract
The peripheral areas of deep-sea hydrothermal vents are often inhabited by an assemblage of animals distinct to those living close to vent chimneys. For many such taxa, it is considered that peak abundances in the vent periphery relate to the availability of hard substrate as well as the increased concentrations of organic matter generated at vents, compared to background areas. However, the peripheries of vents are less well-studied than the assemblages of vent-endemic taxa, and the mechanisms through which peripheral fauna may benefit from vent environments are generally unknown. Understanding this is crucial for evaluating the sphere of influence of hydrothermal vents and managing the impacts of future human activity within these environments, as well as offering insights into the processes of metazoan adaptation to vents. In this study, we explored the evolutionary histories, microbiomes and nutritional sources of two distantly-related sponge types living at the periphery of active hydrothermal vents in two different geological settings ( Cladorhiza from the E2 vent site on the East Scotia Ridge, Southern Ocean, and Spinularia from the Endeavour vent site on the Juan de Fuca Ridge, North-East Pacific) to examine their relationship to nearby venting. Our results uncovered a close sister relationship between the majority of our E2 Cladorhiza specimens and the species Cladorhiza methanophila , known to harbor and obtain nutrition from methanotrophic symbionts at cold seeps. Our microbiome analyses demonstrated that both E2 Cladorhiza and Endeavour Spinularia sp. are associated with putative chemosynthetic Gammaproteobacteria, including Thioglobaceae (present in both sponge types) and Methylomonaceae (present in Spinularia sp.). These bacteria are closely related to chemoautotrophic symbionts of bathymodiolin mussels. Both vent-peripheral sponges demonstrate carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures consistent with contributions to nutrition from chemosynthesis. This study expands the number of known associations between metazoans and potentially chemosynthetic Gammaproteobacteria, indicating that they can be incredibly widespread and also occur away from the immediate vicinity of chemosynthetic environments in the vent-periphery, where these sponges may be adapted to benefit from dispersed vent fluids., (Copyright © 2020 Georgieva, Taboada, Riesgo, Díez-Vives, De Leo, Jeffreys, Copley, Little, Ríos, Cristobo, Hestetun and Glover.)
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
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21. Microbial-tubeworm associations in a 440 million year old hydrothermal vent community.
- Author
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Georgieva MN, Little CTS, Bailey RJ, Ball AD, and Glover AG
- Subjects
- Animals, Bacterial Physiological Phenomena, Biological Evolution, Hydrothermal Vents microbiology, Microbiota physiology, Archaea physiology, Fossils, Polychaeta microbiology
- Abstract
Microorganisms are the chief primary producers within present-day deep-sea hydrothermal vent ecosystems, and play a fundamental role in shaping the ecology of these environments. However, very little is known about the microbes that occurred within, and structured, ancient vent communities. The evolutionary history, diversity and the nature of interactions between ancient vent microorganisms and hydrothermal vent animals are largely undetermined. The oldest known hydrothermal vent community that includes metazoans is preserved within the Ordovician to early Silurian Yaman Kasy massive sulfide deposit, Ural Mountains, Russia. This deposit contains two types of tube fossil attributed to annelid worms. A re-examination of these fossils using a range of microscopy, chemical analysis and nano-tomography techniques reveals the preservation of filamentous microorganisms intimately associated with the tubes. The microfossils bear a strong resemblance to modern hydrothermal vent microbial filaments, including those preserved within the mineralized tubes of the extant vent polychaete genus Alvinella The Yaman Kasy fossil filaments represent the oldest animal-microbial associations preserved within an ancient hydrothermal vent environment. They allude to a diverse microbial community, and also demonstrate that remarkable fine-scale microbial preservation can also be observed in ancient vent deposits, suggesting the possible existence of similar exceptionally preserved microfossils in even older vent environments., (© 2018 The Authors.)
- Published
- 2018
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22. Gastropods from the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous seep deposits in Spitsbergen, Svalbard.
- Author
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Kaim A, Hryniewicz K, Little CTS, and Nakrem HA
- Subjects
- Animals, Fossils, Hydrocarbons, Svalbard, Water, Gastropoda
- Abstract
Eleven gastropod species from seven latest Jurassic-earliest Cretaceous hydrocarbon seep deposits from central Spitsbergen, Svalbard are described and illustrated. Six new species and one new genus are introduced. Sassenfjordia gen. nov. is tentatively classified as a naticoid and is characterized by a naticiform gross teleoconch morphology and a large protoconch ornamented with spiral ribs, similar to those present in the subfamily Sininae. The patellogastropod ?Pectinodonta borealis sp. nov. represents the oldest occurrence of pectinodontid limpets in chemosynthesis-based associations. The colloniid Hikidea svalbardensis sp. nov. is the oldest confirmed occurrence of this genus so far. The eucyclid Eucycloidea bitneri sp. nov. is the second report of an occurrence of this genus at hydrocarbon seeps (both of which come from the Paleo-Barents Sea). Abyssomelania sp. is the third known, and the oldest occurrence of this genus. Hudlestoniella hammeri sp. nov. represents another occurrence of this genus at seeps in the Paleo-Barents Sea; its current higher-rank assignment is reviewed herein. It may belong either to the rissoids, as previously suggested, or to the abyssochrysoids (or zygopleurids). A fossil identified as Cretadmete sp. is here classified in the Purpurinidae, a family of stem neogastropods or tonnoideans. The heterobranch Hyalogyrina knorringfjelletensis sp. nov. is the oldest occurrence of hyalogyrinids in chemosynthesis-based associations. Several oldest occurrences of seep taxa in moderately shallow-water seeps in Spitsbergen suggest that the previously questioned onshore-offshore hypothesis of seep and vent colonization should be carefully re-investigated.
- Published
- 2017
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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