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February 10, 2011

Ocean "SuperHighway" for Life-forms

"Pioneer" hydrothermal vent species--tiny life-forms--travel hundreds of kilometers to settle new deep-ocean territories.

One such pioneer species, Ctenopelta porifera, appears to have traveled more than 300 kilometers to settle at the site on the underwater mountain range known as the East Pacific Rise.

This image accompanied NSF press release "Long-Distance Larvae Speed to New Undersea Vent Homes."

Credit: Nicole Rager Fuller, National Science Foundation


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