Hydrothermal vents can serve as natural laboratories to study speciation processes due to their fragmented distribution, often with geographic barriers between habitats. Two sympatric species of Rimicaris shrimps occur at vents on the Izu‐Bonin‐Mariana volcanic arc: Rimicaris loihi also occurs near Hawai’i and R. cambonae is present on the Tonga Arc. These two species biogeographically co‐occur and are genetically similar, rai...

The abyssal ocean covers more than half of the Earth’s surface, yet remains understudied and underappreciated. In this Perspectives article, we mark the occasion of the Deep Submergence Vehicle Alvin’s increased depth range (from 4500 to 6500 m) to highlight the scientific potential of the abyssal seafloor. From a geologic perspective, ultra-slow spreading mid-ocean ridges, Petit Spot volcanism, transform faults, and subductio...

Growing human activity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) is driving increasing impacts on the biodiversity of this vast area of the ocean. As a result, the United Nations General Assembly committed to convening a series of intergovernmental conferences (IGCs) to develop an international legally-binding instrument (ILBI) for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of ABNJ [the biodiversity...

The characterization of evolutionary and biogeographical patterns is of fundamental importance to identify factors driving biodiversity. Due to their widespread but discontinuous distribution, deep‐sea hydrothermal vent barnacles represent an excellent model for testing biogeographical hypotheses regarding the origin, dispersal and diversity of modern vent fauna. Here, we characterize the global genetic diversity of vent barna...

Seamounts are considered to play a defining role in the evolution and diversity of marine fauna, acting as ‘stepping‐stones’ for dispersal, regional centers of genetic isolation and speciation, and refugia for deep‐sea populations. This study focused on the patterns of dispersal and genetic connectivity of four seamount ophiuroid species ( Asteroschema clavigera , Ophiocreas oedipus , Ophioplinthaca abyssalis , and Ophioplinth...

Larval dispersal is critical for the maintenance of species populations in patchy and ephemeral hydrothermal vent habitats. On fast‐spreading ridges, such as the East Pacific Rise, rates of habitat turnover are comparable to estimated lifespans of many of the inhabiting species. Traditionally, dispersal questions have been addressed with two very different approaches, larval studies and population genetics. Population genetic...

Summary Organisms at hydrothermal vents inhabit discontinuous chemical ‘islands’ along mid‐ocean ridges, a scenario that may promote genetic divergence among populations. The 2003 discovery of mussels at the Lost City Hydrothermal Field provided a means of evaluating factors that govern the biogeography of symbiotic bacteria in the deep sea. The unusual chemical composition of vent fluids, the remote location, and paucity of c...