r (SEE FIG TWO). Hydrothermal vents act as the interface between the hot anoxic upflow zone and the cold oxidized seawater. Within the deep-sea hydrothermal vents there are high levels of sulfides and sulfates. The bacteria turn a normally toxic element, hydrogen sulphide, into energy they use to exist and grow. The bacteria then represent the basis of life for all other vent creatures.
The giant tubeworm populations that thrive in hydrothermal vents enjoy a symbiotic relationship with the bacteria which live on their surface and inside their chitinous tube structures. At first scientists wondered how the bacteria enter the worms that have no anuses or mouths. The question was answered when scientists discovered that the bacteria enter the tubeworms in their early development when they do exhibit a mouth, gut and anus. As one scientist explains, “Their survival depends on a symbiotic relationship with the billions of bacteria that live inside of them. These bacteria conver
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