So far, the natural recovery of vent communities at large scales has only been evaluated at fast spreading centres, by monitoring faunal recolonisation after volcanic eruptions. However, at slow spreading ridges, opportunities to observe natural disturbances are rare, the overall hydrothermal system being more stable. In this study, we implemented a novel experimental approach by inducing a small-scale disturbance to assess the recovery potential of vent communities along the slow-spreading northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge (nMAR). We followed the recovery patterns of thirteen Bathymodiolus azoricus mussel assemblages colonising an active vent edifice at the Lucky Strike vent field, in relation to environmental conditions and assessed the role of biotic interactions in recolonisation dynamics. Within 2 years after the disturbance, almost all taxonomic richness had recovered, with the exception of a few low occurrence species. However, we observed only a partial recovery of faunal densities and a major change in faunal composition characterised by an increase in abundance of gastropod species, which are hypothesised to be the pioneer colonists of these habitats. Although not significant, our results suggest a potential role of mobile predators in early-colonisation stages. A model of post-disturbance succession for nMAR vent communities from habitat opening to climax assemblages is proposed, also highlighting numerous knowledge gaps. This type of experimental approach, combined with dispersal and connectivity analyses, will contribute to fully assess the resilience of active vent communities after a major disturbance, especially along slow spreading centres targeted for seafloor massive sulphide extraction.

到目前为止，只有通过监测火山喷发后的动物群落再定殖，才可以在快速扩散的中心评估大规模的喷口群落自然恢复。然而，在缓慢扩散的山脊上，观察自然扰动的机会很少，整个热液系统更加稳定。在这项研究中，我们通过诱发小规模扰动来评估缓慢蔓延的北中大西洋海脊（nMAR）沿岸通风口群落的恢复潜力，从而实施了一种新颖的实验方法。我们跟踪了与环境条件相关的在幸运罢工喷口场上活跃的排气口建筑物上定殖的十三对拟南芥贻贝组合的恢复模式，并评估了生物相互作用在重新定殖动力学中的作用。骚扰发生后2年内，除少数低发种外，几乎所有的分类学丰富度都得到了恢复。但是，我们只观察到部分动物密度恢复和部分动物组成发生重大变化，其特点是腹足纲物种的数量增加，这被认为是这些生境的先驱者。尽管影响不大，但我们的研究结果表明，移动掠食者在早期殖民化阶段可能发挥潜在作用。提出了从栖息地开放到高潮组合的nMAR通风口群落的扰动后演替模型，该模型还突显了许多知识空白。这种类型的实验方法，结合分散性和连通性分析，将有助于全面评估发生重大扰动后活动通风口群落的复原力，