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Low 15N/14N in hydrothermal vent animals: ecological implications

Nature volume 289, pages 484–485 (1981)Cite this article

Abstract

Low-trophic-level animal biomass from the Galápagos and 21 °N hydrothermal vents was found to have 15N/14N ratios which are lower than those previously reported for organic nitrogen1–6, ammonium1,2,5, and nitrate1,2,7,8 in deep Pacific Ocean water. These nitrogen isotope ratios of vent animals are, however, near those of deep-oceanic N2 (refs 1, 2, 7, 9) and resemble those of marine biota associated with N2 fixation2,10. These observations suggest that organic nitrogen of nutritional importance to vent animals is initially synthesized within the vent environment and this synthesis may be preceded by N2 fixation.

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  1. Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, California, 90024

    Greg H. Rau

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Rau, G. Low 15N/14N in hydrothermal vent animals: ecological implications. Nature 289, 484–485 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/289484a0

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