A. Fialamedioni et al., SOURCE OF ENERGY SUSTAINING THE CALYPTOGENA POPULATIONS FROM DEEP TRENCHES IN SUBDUCTION ZONES OFF JAPAN, Deep-sea research. Part 1. Oceanographic research papers, 40(6), 1993, pp. 1241
Deep tow camera surveys during the Hakuho Maru cruise (KH-89-1) and Na
utile dives during the Kaiko-Nankai cruise (November 1989) demonstrate
the presence of dense animal communities at depths around 2000 and 38
00 m. The dominant organisms are vesicomyid bivalve molluscs, with two
new very large (up to 28 cm long) species of Calyptogena and the two
species previously found in the Nankai Trough during the Kaiko cruise
(1985), C. laubieri and C. kaikoi. They apparently rely on sulfide-bas
ed chemoautotrophy through symbiotic bacteria associated with their gi
lls. Evidence of sulfur-oxidizing metabolism includes ultrastructural
features of symbionts, absence of methanol dehydrogenase activity, pre
sence of ATP-sulfurylase and abundant elemental sulfur in the gill. Ca
rbon isotope ratios are close to values obtained in other sulfur-oxidi
zing symbiont-bearing species (from -35.6 to -38.7 parts per thousand
for the 3950 m species and from -36 to -37.4 parts per thousand for th
e 2050 m species). Nitrogen isotope ratios show highly variable values
(from -4 to -9.7 parts per thousand for the 3950 m species and from -
0.2 to +4.4 parts per thousand for the 2050 m species). C-14 analyses
indicates growth based on water CO2 with limited or no input of fossil
carbon.