The unique ecosystems and biodiversity associated with mid-ocean ridge (MOR) hydrothermal vent systems contrast sharply with surrounding deep-sea habitats, however both may be increasingly threatened by anthropogenic activity (e.g., mining activities at massive sulphide deposits). Climate change can alter the deep-sea through increased bottom temperatures, loss of oxygen, and modifications to deep water circulation. Despite th...

The UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development recognizes the current ocean sustainability crisis and calls for a transformation of ocean science. Many of the key challenges recognized by the UN Decade are examples of wicked problems: intractable and messy situations with high stakeholder divergence. Addressing wicked ocean sustainability problems requires adaptable, iterative, and participatory approaches that can...

Vegetated coastal ecosystems can contribute greatly to long-term carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emission mitigation, providing a strong argument for their protection and restoration. We investigated carbon sequestration in the Cowichan Estuary, a temperate estuary on Vancouver Island, Canada, in relation to habitat type (salt marsh, eelgrass, mudflats, and oyster shell beds) and habitat degradation. Stored organic car...

Over fifteen years ago, Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) began with the world’s first large-scale, interactive, real-time portal into the ocean, bringing continuous, real-time data to the surface for applications in scientific research, societal benefits, and supporting Canada’s ocean industry. This marked the dawn of the Internet-connected ocean, enabling a more fulsome understanding of the ocean through ocean intelligence. These...

Summary Elucidation of the potential roles of single‐celled eukaryotes (protists) in ecosystem function and trophodynamics in hydrothermal vent ecosystems is reliant on information regarding their abundance, distribution and preference for vent habitats. Using high‐throughput 18S rRNA gene sequencing on a diverse suite of hydrothermally influenced and background water samples, we assess the diversity and distribution of protis...

A large proportion of the faunal biomass in hydrothermal vent ecosystems relies on symbiotic relationships, with bacteria as a source of nutrition. Whereas multiple symbioses have been observed in diverse vent hosts, siboglinid tubeworms have been thought to harbour a single endosymbiont phylotype affiliated to the Gammaproteobacteria. In the case of the Northeast Pacific vestimentiferan Ridgeia piscesae , two previous studies...

This study provides a first description of the morphology of Blue Mats: sessile, colonial folliculinid ciliates ( Folliculinopsis sp.) that create dense bright blue carpets in certain Juan de Fuca Ridge vent fields and at vents elsewhere. In one area of widespread venting, for example, Blue Mats occupied approximately 70% of the substratum. The ultrastructure of the Blue Mat ciliates was investigated in samples from Axial Volc...