tube worms
Hydrothermal vent dwellers
Tube worms are marine invertebrates that build and inhabit protective tubes, often attached to rocks, the seafloor, or other underwater surfaces.
The most spectacular varieties live near deep-sea hydrothermal vents, where they can grow several feet long and survive without sunlight by hosting bacteria that convert chemicals from the vents into energy.
Smaller species are common in shallow waters and tidal zones, where they filter feed from the water column.
Energy from chemical reactions
- sulfideCompound with element sixteen
- ventOpening for airflow
- plumeOrnamental feather or rising column
- chimneysVertical smoke conduits
seafloor · mid-ocean ridge · fissure · minerals · geothermal · basalt · tectonics · rift
Extremely deep, unmeasurable
- benthicOf the sea bottom
- submersibleUnderwater exploration vehicle
- AlvinSmall striped rodent
- darknessTotal absence of light
Ornamental feather or rising column
- chitinArthropod shell polymer
- tentaclesFlexible grasping appendages
- branchialOf aquatic breathing organs
- sessileAttached at base
segmented · gutless · mouthless · hemoglobin · red plume · anchoring · growth rings
Two-way biological benefit
- hostOne receiving guests
- hemoglobinErythrocyte's oxygen-binding protein
- coevolutionReciprocal adaptation between interacting species
- obligateCommit by necessity
Range of life forms
- habitatOrganism's natural environment
- invertebratesAnimals without vertebral columns
- food webInterconnected predator-prey relationships
- colonizationForeign territorial takeover
chemosynthesis
Energy from chemical reactions
chimneys · seafloor · mid-ocean ridge · fissure · minerals · geothermal · basalt · tectonics · rift · submarine
abyssal
Extremely deep, unmeasurable
- benthicOf the sea bottom
- submersibleUnderwater exploration vehicle
- AlvinSmall striped rodent
plume
Ornamental feather or rising column
- chitinArthropod shell polymer
- tentaclesFlexible grasping appendages
- branchialOf aquatic breathing organs
sessile · segmented · gutless · mouthless · hemoglobin · red plume · anchoring · growth rings
mutualism
Two-way biological benefit
- hostOne receiving guests
- hemoglobinErythrocyte's oxygen-binding protein
- coevolutionReciprocal adaptation between interacting species
biodiversity
Range of life forms
- habitatOrganism's natural environment
- invertebratesAnimals without vertebral columns
- food webInterconnected predator-prey relationships
- invertebratesinvertebrate, arthropod, arthropods, mollusk, crustacean
- marine invertebratescrabs, lobsters, shrimp, clams, mussels
- tidepoolstidepools, tide pools, tide pool, rockpools, rock pools
- wormsearthworm, earthworms, nightcrawler, roundworms, flatworms
- deep seaabyss, seabed, ocean floor, ocean depths, seafloor
- deep-sea creaturesanglerfish, viperfish, lanternfish, dragonfish, blobfish
tube wormsjellyfish
Drifting marine stinger
squid · octopus · plankton · cephalopods · nekton
tube wormsphytoplankton
Photosynthetic aquatic drifters
seagrass · kelp · filter feeders · seaweed