Eel City
Encyclopedia
Eel City is the name of a community of deep-sea eels living amongst hydrothermal vents
in the new volcano of Nafanua in American Samoa
. It is unique because most hydrothermal vents are predominantly inhabited by invertebrates, whereas there is little invertebrate life in Eel City. However, eels are quite common in deeper waters. The eels inhabit the crevices of the volcano.
During the initial dive in March 2005, one of the discoverers, Hubert Staudigel (the foremost geologist at San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography
) commented "I suppose it's possible they migrate up the water column and feed in the water column and migrate back down to the cracks and crevices to hang out. But it seems odd that a deep-sea fish that would normally be experiencing 2- to 5-degree Celsius (35.6 degrees to 41 degrees Fahrenheit) water would be seeking out water that is warmer."
On a follow-up dive in July 2005, the eels were identified as Dysommina rugosa, which are known from trawl samples in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, but have never before been studied in their natural habitat. Preliminary work indicates that they use the vent only as a place to live. They seem to feed not on chemosynthetic bacteria, but on crustaceans that pass by Nafanua's summit in the currents.
Hydrothermal vent
A hydrothermal vent is a fissure in a planet's surface from which geothermally heated water issues. Hydrothermal vents are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart, ocean basins, and hotspots. Hydrothermal vents exist because the earth is both...
in the new volcano of Nafanua in American Samoa
American Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
. It is unique because most hydrothermal vents are predominantly inhabited by invertebrates, whereas there is little invertebrate life in Eel City. However, eels are quite common in deeper waters. The eels inhabit the crevices of the volcano.
During the initial dive in March 2005, one of the discoverers, Hubert Staudigel (the foremost geologist at San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, is one of the oldest and largest centers for ocean and earth science research, graduate training, and public service in the world...
) commented "I suppose it's possible they migrate up the water column and feed in the water column and migrate back down to the cracks and crevices to hang out. But it seems odd that a deep-sea fish that would normally be experiencing 2- to 5-degree Celsius (35.6 degrees to 41 degrees Fahrenheit) water would be seeking out water that is warmer."
On a follow-up dive in July 2005, the eels were identified as Dysommina rugosa, which are known from trawl samples in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, but have never before been studied in their natural habitat. Preliminary work indicates that they use the vent only as a place to live. They seem to feed not on chemosynthetic bacteria, but on crustaceans that pass by Nafanua's summit in the currents.