Reproduction in deep-sea vent shrimps is shaped by diet and phylogeny, with rhythms unlinked to surface production

Abstract

Variations in reproductive patterns according to feeding strategies or food supply have been recognized in many animals from various ecosystems. Despite an unusual trophic structure, these relationships remain largely under-studied in chemosynthetic ecosystems. Here, we use Rimicaris shrimps as a study case to explore relations between reproduction, diets and food supply in these environments. For that, we compiled data on presence of reproductive individuals from the past 35 years and compared reproductive outputs of three shrimps differing by their diets and regions. We report distinct reproductive patterns between Rimicaris species according to their trophic regime regardless of variations related to body size. Besides, we observed a reproductive period mostly between January and early April whatever the region. Intriguingly, this periodicity does not correspond to seasonal variations with presence of ovigerous females during either boreal winter or austral summer. These observations contrast with the long-standing paradigm in deep-sea species for which periodic reproductive patterns have always been attributed to seasonal variations of photosynthetic production sinking from surface. Our results suggest the presence of intrinsic basis for biological rhythms in the deep sea, and bring to light the importance of having year-round observations in order to understand life history of vent animals.