The Ecology of Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 352 pages
• Published by: Princeton University Press
• Edition: 1st Edition March 6, 2000
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0691049297
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0691049298
• Book Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Weighs: 1.4 pounds

Product Review
The deep sea has long been likened to a terrestrial desert. In some ways the analogy is useful, writes marine biologist Cindy Lee Van Dover, for the oceanic floor, like many arid regions of the earth, is low in biomass. She adds, "What life there is, though, is remarkably diverse," sometimes numbering hundreds of species in a single square meter of mud.

That deep-sea diversity is nowhere more pronounced than in the thermal vents that often occur where tectonic plates meet, marked by great lava fields and even active volcanoes (three-quarters of which are underwater). Located, among other places, along the great mountain ridges of the Laurentian Abyss and the Marianas Trench, these vents harbor strange creatures found nowhere else--giant clams and mussels, for example, and 2-meter-long "tubeworms" whose internal organs house sulfur-oxidizing bacteria. Discovered only in 1977, these hydrothermal vents, which vary markedly from ocean to ocean, have excited much attention among researchers. Some scholars now believe that life originated in these fiery environments, which have yielded relict species of barnacles, crinoids, and mollusks hitherto known only from the fossil record.

looking at the ecology and geochemistry of the planet's deep-sea vent systems, Van Dover presents a wide-ranging, interdisciplinary, and highly accessible survey of these mysterious places. --Gregory McNamee

Product Review
"This book will acquaint a whole generation of readers and students to the wonders of the deep sea and the discoveries that have yet to be made on the earth. It will be a valuable resource, serving as a textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses and as a reference for researchers in the fields of deep-sea hydrothermal vents, oceanography, marine biology, invertebrate zoology, microbiology, and biogeography. Because Cindy Van Dover is a truly gifted writer, her book will also be extremely useful to general readers outside of these main fields. It is a joy to read." -- Colleen Cavanaugh, Harvard University

"This is a truly readable book, lavishly illustrated, that covers one of the most exciting and interesting aspects of marine biology. Offering a very thoughtful interpretation and analysis of the data available, the book takes a wonderful holistic approach to its subject. It will be the standard text in vent biology." -- Paul Tyler, University of Southampton

A remarkably thorough and balanced, dynamic account of evolving and expanding knowledge of these ocean systems. . . . -- Choice

I heartily recommend it to anyone with an interest in learning about what is undoubtedly one of the most important discoveries in earth and life sciences of the past century. -- Review

The strength of Van Dover¹s book is that it is academically definitive. . . . -- Richard Shelton, Times Literary Supplement

The strength of Van Dover¹s book is that it is academically definitive. . . . -- Richard Shelton, Times Literary Supplement

Unique, most up to date book on a vast multidisciplinary subject, written enthusiastically and authoritatively. [W]ill be an invaluable resource. -- Choice

[An] impressive, eminently readable book. . . . -- Ellis L. Yochelson, American Scientist

Reader Reviews
This book rates along with the standard texts by Marshall, Herring and Tyler that should be on the shelves of anyone interested in the biology of the deep sea. It brings the disparate biological, geological and biochemical hydrothermal vent literature together brilliantly. My only criticisms of the text are a lack of attention to the potentially damaging effects of scientific investigations on hydrothermal vents and propogation of the myth that deep-sea shrimps are able to see black-body radiation.