Are CO2-rich seafloor pockmarks a suitable environment for ostracod assemblages? The example of the Zannone Giant Pockmark (central-eastern Tyrrhenian)

Abstract

Despite their high abundance and diversity, ostracods adapted to a particular chemosynthetic environment and its surroundings have rarely been studied. Therefore, the thresholds and environmental characteristics shaping their assemblages are poorly known. Here, we report a detailed study of the ostracod assemblages occurring around the Zannone Giant Pockmark, a CO₂ hydrothermal vent system recently discovered in the central-eastern Tyrrhenian Sea. Although among crustaceans, ostracods seem to have the longest stratigraphic record in fossil seeps and hydrothermal vents starting in the Palaeozoic, our results indicate that their occurrence is driven by CO₂ that represents an insurmountable threshold for ostracods’ life.