The Alarcón Rise (AR) hydrothermal system recently discovered in the Southern Gulf of California is characterized by the presence of black smokers, fluids with temperatures up to 360 °C, high concentrations of metal-sulfides and H₂S. The trophic structure and the energy flow in the vent community were determined through the carbon (δ¹³C), nitrogen (δ¹⁵N), and sulfur (δ³⁴S) isotopic signatures of 19 macrofaunal species. The δ¹³C values had an ample range from −36 and −8‰, reflecting a wide variety of carbon sources and the predominance of organic carbon fixed through the reductive tricarboxylic acid cycle (rTCA). The δ¹⁵N values varied from −7.9 and 18‰, corresponding to primary and secondary consumers, and the most enriched value (18‰) to a non-vent organism. Dominant organisms included primary consumers such as symbiont-bearing, and bacterivores, which revealed the importance of the bacterial consortium in the energy transfer. Secondary consumers comprised scavengers/detritivores, the most diverse guild, and predators, rather scarce. The δ³⁴S values were between −14.5 and 15.6‰, indicating the assimilation of magmatic sulfur in the vent-fauna, and the complementary assimilation of photosynthetically derived organic matter in the non-vent organisms, hinted by their highest value (15.6‰). Interestingly, an unidentified Actiniaria anemone displayed anomalously depleted δ¹³C values (−30.4‰), reflecting a potential symbiotic relationship with sulfur-oxidizing endobacteria.

最近在加利福尼亚湾南部发现的 Alarcón Rise (AR) 热液系统的特点是存在黑烟、温度高达 360 °C 的流体、高浓度的金属硫化物和 H ₂ S。营养结构和喷口群落中的能量流是通过19 种大型动物物种的碳 (δ ¹³ C)、氮 (δ ¹⁵ N) 和硫 (δ ³⁴ S) 同位素特征确定的。δ ¹³ C 值的范围很广，从 -36 到 -8‰，反映了多种碳源和通过还原性三羧酸循环 (rTCA) 固定的有机碳的优势。δ ¹⁵N 值从 -7.9 到 18‰ 不等，对应于初级和次级消费者，最丰富的值 (18‰) 对应于非排气口生物。主要生物体包括主要消费者，例如共生体和食菌动物，这揭示了细菌聚生体在能量转移中的重要性。次级消费者包括食腐动物/食腐动物、最多样化的公会和捕食者，相当稀少。δ ³⁴ S 值在-14.5～15.6‰之间，表明喷口动物中岩浆硫同化，非喷口生物光合有机质互补同化，最高值（15.6‰）暗示. 有趣的是，一种身份不明的海葵表现出异常耗尽的 δ ¹³C 值 (-30.4‰)，反映了与硫氧化内细菌的潜在共生关系。