ABSTRACT: Rimicaris exoculata, the ‘blind shrimp,’ is the most abundant species living on active hydrothermal edifices at deep-sea vents of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Its unusually enlarged branchial chamber houses a dense ectosymbiotic community of chemoautotrophic bacteria. Long debated, shrimp nutrition has been proven to be a kind of osmotrophy, whereby small organic molecules produced by the symbionts pass through the integument of the shrimp directly into the circulatory system, rather than through the digestive system. The broad phylogenetic and metabolic diversity of this epibiotic community suggests a highly flexible and adjustable microbial consortium, adapted to the chemically contrasting environments inhabited by the shrimp. To cope with the highly fluctuating oxygen and temperature conditions of its habitat, R. exoculata possesses hemocyanin with a strong oxygen affinity, and has developed both molecular and behavioral responses to heat stresses. If R. exoculata is able to detect very dim light or chemical compounds emitted by vents, the relatively small visual and olfactory areas in the brain, along with the disproportionately enlarged higher centers, argue for a significant involvement of navigational skills using learning and place memory to orient itself within its aphotic environment. This shrimp undergoes unconventional larval development, with a primary lecithotrophic stage followed by an extended planktotrophic period, allowing a huge potential for dispersion. In light of mining licenses posing a threat for deep-sea environments, this species is a model still to be studied to better understand life in extreme deep-sea ecosystems at the global scale of an ocean.

中文翻译：

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Rimicaris exoculata：深海热液喷口中与外共生细菌有关的虾的生物学和生态学

摘要：Rimicaris exoculata“盲虾”是生活在大西洋中脊深海喷口活跃水热建筑物上的最丰富的物种。其异常扩大的小室容纳着浓密的化学自养细菌胞外共生群落。长期以来，对虾的营养已被证明是一种渗透作用，共生体产生的有机小分子通过虾的皮被直接进入循环系统，而不是通过消化系统。这个表生生物群落的广泛的系统发育和代谢多样性表明，它是一种高度灵活和可调节的微生物聚生体，适合于虾所居住的化学对比环境。为了应对生境R. exoculata的高度波动的氧气和温度条件拥有具有很强的氧亲和力的血蓝蛋白，并且已经开发出对热应激的分子和行为响应。如果R. exoculata能够检测出通风孔发出的非常暗淡的光或化学化合物，大脑中相对较小的视觉和嗅觉区域以及不成比例的扩大的较高中心，因此主张通过学习和放置记忆来将自身定位于无光环境。该虾经历了非常规的幼体发育，主要是营养营养阶段，随后是延长的营养营养阶段，因此具有巨大的扩散潜力。鉴于采矿许可证对深海环境构成威胁，该物种是一种仍需研究的模型，以更好地了解全球海洋范围内极端深海生态系统中的生命。