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Science 14 April 2006:
Vol. 312. no. 5771, p. 231
DOI: 10.1126/science.1125286
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Brevia

Thermal Preference and Tolerance of Alvinellids

Peter R. Girguis1* and Raymond W. Lee2*

The highest oceanic temperatures are found at hydrothermal vents, where the polychaete Paralvinella sulfincola lives on vent sulfides within steep and dynamic thermal gradients. To determine P. sulfincola thermotolerance and preference, we developed a high-pressure aquarium that mimics in situ thermal gradients and permits P. sulfincola to move within the gradient. These polychaetes were thermotaxic, preferring temperatures of 40° to 50°C. Some individuals remained at 50°C for 7 hours (the duration of the experiment), whereas others endured exposure to 55°C for over 15 minutes, demonstrating that alvinellids prefer high temperatures and are among the most thermotolerant of marine organisms.

1 Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
2 School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: rlee{at}mail.wsu.edu (R.W.L.); pgirguis{at}oeb.harvard.edu (P.R.G.)

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Abundances of Hyperthermophilic Autotrophic Fe(III) Oxide Reducers and Heterotrophs in Hydrothermal Sulfide Chimneys of the Northeastern Pacific Ocean.
H. C. Ver Eecke, D. S. Kelley, and J. F. Holden (2009)
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