Hydrothermal vent research spans ecology, biology, and geochemistry, and it sits at the core of the Deep-Sea Environments and Ecology section. New findings continue to reshape our understanding of these systems, from vent community structure to the wider deep-sea processes that sustain them.
This Research Topic will bring together a collection of articles covering the breadth of deep-sea and hydrothermal vent research. We welcome all article types, including original research, reviews, perspectives, and opinion pieces, giving contributors the flexibility to present new findings, synthesize current knowledge, or highlight open questions in the field.
Recent research highlights the diverse themes this collection can draw on, such as how habitat heterogeneity and local environmental factors shape deep-sea benthic community structures. Contributions that explore these patterns, whether through original data, localized studies of faunal assemblages and habitat variability, or broader biogeographical synthesis, are highly encouraged.
We welcome contributions on all aspects of hydrothermal vent and deep-sea research. Contributions may focus on, but are not limited to, the following themes:
- Hydrothermal vent ecology and biodiversity
- Deep-sea ecosystems and habitats beyond vent systems
- Geochemical and biogeochemical processes
- Symbiosis, microbiology, and physiological adaptations of vent and deep-sea organisms
- Larval ecology, dispersal, and connectivity among vent fields and deep-sea habitats
- Habitat heterogeneity and community structure across vent and deep-sea systems
- Conservation, human impacts, and policy frameworks for deep-sea and hydrothermal vent ecosystems
Keywords: Hydrothermal vents, deep-sea ecology, vent biogeochemistry, benthic community structure, vent symbiosis
Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
