Animals
There are many animals that live around black and white smokers (hydrothermal vents). These animals live off of the earths geothermal forces rather than living off the sun. A big part of these ecosystems is the microbes within them, most animals eat these microbes, or pray on each other.
Picture Above: Source 2
Picture Below: Source 4
Picture Below: Source 4
Tubeworms (Riftia pachyptila)
Resembling giant lipsticks, tubeworms (Riftia pachyptila) live over a mile deep
on the Pacific Ocean floor near hydrothermal vents. They may grow to about 3
meters (8 ft) tall. The worms' white tube home is made of a tough, natural
material called chitin (pronounced "kite-in").
Tubeworms have no mouth, eyes, or stomach ("gut"). Their survival depends on a symbiotic
relationship with billions of bacteria
that live inside them. These bacteria convert the chemicals spewing out of the
vents into worm food. This chemical-based food-making process is known as
chemosynthesis.
The bright-red plume is the tubeworm's breathing apparatus. The blood in it
contains special forms of hemoglobin that have a super-high affinity for the
oxygen in the seawater. Masses of tubeworms, with their showy plumes, inspired
scientists to name one vent field "The Rose Garden" in 1979. (3)
Hydrothermal Vent Crab (Bythograea thermydron)
The Hydrothermal Vent Crab is the top predator at hydrothermal vents. These crabs
are usually found among dense clusters of tubeworms. Vent crabs are located
around 2.7km under water and face 250 times more pressure than we do. Vent crabs
will eat anything at hydrothermal vents. Juveniles can live at atmospheric pressure,
but adult crabs will die unless put under great pressure, so they are kept in hydraulic
vaults that pump 1,500 pounds per square inch, which isn't quite as much as Vent
crabs face, but enough to keep them alive.(1)
Hydrothermal Vent Scaleworm (Polychaeta Polynoidae)
Found at low tides on rocky shores, The Scale Worm is grey in colour.
Each scale is marked with a distinctive c-shaped brown pattern. The colour of this
worm helps it camaflouge into the rocks from predators. With scales covering the
upper surface, the scale worm is a short compact worm with 12 pairs of
overlapping scales called elytra. (1)
Deep Sea Mussels
Deep sea mussels are often the first creatures to colonize a hydrothermal vent.
Like tubeworms, they too have bacteria inside them that converts energy through
chemosynthesis. These mussels clump together and can filter food from the water,
allowing them to survive a little longer after a hydrothermal vent becomes inactive.
They are common prey for many predators.(1)
Resembling giant lipsticks, tubeworms (Riftia pachyptila) live over a mile deep
on the Pacific Ocean floor near hydrothermal vents. They may grow to about 3
meters (8 ft) tall. The worms' white tube home is made of a tough, natural
material called chitin (pronounced "kite-in").
Tubeworms have no mouth, eyes, or stomach ("gut"). Their survival depends on a symbiotic
relationship with billions of bacteria
that live inside them. These bacteria convert the chemicals spewing out of the
vents into worm food. This chemical-based food-making process is known as
chemosynthesis.
The bright-red plume is the tubeworm's breathing apparatus. The blood in it
contains special forms of hemoglobin that have a super-high affinity for the
oxygen in the seawater. Masses of tubeworms, with their showy plumes, inspired
scientists to name one vent field "The Rose Garden" in 1979. (3)
Hydrothermal Vent Crab (Bythograea thermydron)
The Hydrothermal Vent Crab is the top predator at hydrothermal vents. These crabs
are usually found among dense clusters of tubeworms. Vent crabs are located
around 2.7km under water and face 250 times more pressure than we do. Vent crabs
will eat anything at hydrothermal vents. Juveniles can live at atmospheric pressure,
but adult crabs will die unless put under great pressure, so they are kept in hydraulic
vaults that pump 1,500 pounds per square inch, which isn't quite as much as Vent
crabs face, but enough to keep them alive.(1)
Hydrothermal Vent Scaleworm (Polychaeta Polynoidae)
Found at low tides on rocky shores, The Scale Worm is grey in colour.
Each scale is marked with a distinctive c-shaped brown pattern. The colour of this
worm helps it camaflouge into the rocks from predators. With scales covering the
upper surface, the scale worm is a short compact worm with 12 pairs of
overlapping scales called elytra. (1)
Deep Sea Mussels
Deep sea mussels are often the first creatures to colonize a hydrothermal vent.
Like tubeworms, they too have bacteria inside them that converts energy through
chemosynthesis. These mussels clump together and can filter food from the water,
allowing them to survive a little longer after a hydrothermal vent becomes inactive.
They are common prey for many predators.(1)
These Pictures are all from source (6)
Pompeii Worm (Alvinella Pompejana)
The worm gets its name from the Roman city of Pompeii, which was
destroyed during an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The
Alvinella in the worm's scientific name stems from the submersible
Alvin.
"The Pompeii worm makes paper-like tube colonies attached to hydrothermal vent
chimneys," says Dr. Cary. "While the very hottest water shoots out the top of
the chimneys, these structures are so porous that hot water also seeps out the
chimney sides and through the worm's tube home."
The worm also displays a remarkably broad temperature gradient along its "hairy"
body. By inserting a temperature probe called "the Mosquito," from the
submersible Alvin into the worm's tube, Dr. Cary found that the worm's
rear end sits in water as hot as 176°F, while its gilll-covered head, which
often pokes out of the worm's tube home, rests in much cooler water, only about 72°F. (3)
Hydrothermal Vent Shrimp
Found in the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean,
these 15 shrimp species are usually gathered in huge swarms
along the edges of active black smokers. For each species,
they can each contain as many as 30 thousand shrimps. But there is only enough
room from the hydrothermal vents to provide space for only one species of the
shrimp.These tiny little ocean creatures feed on the microbes that grow on their bodies and the
chimneys of the hydrothermal vents. (1)
Zoarcid Fish
Zoarcid fish, or eelput, live among groups of mussels and
tubeworms. They are around two feet long and are white. Zoarcid fish are slow
and lethargic, yet are major predators,feasting on anything from crabs to tubeworms.(1)
Hydrothermal Vent "Dandelion"
Hydrothermal Vent "Dandelions" are actually colonies of individual animals that come
together, like a Portugese Man-of-War. They use their tentacles to anchor themselves
to rocks and can move around. "Dandelions" are scavengers and are usually the
last animals to arrive at hydrothermal vents. This is because after a hydrothermal vent becomes
inactive, then many Dandelions will arrive to feast on the dead and dying organisms. (1)