Cardiac response of the hydrothermal vent crab Segonzacia mesatlantica to variable temperature and oxygen levels

Segonzacia mesatlantica inhabits different hydrothermal vent sites of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge where it experiences chronic environmental hypoxia, and highly variable temperatures. Experimental animals in aquaria at in situ pressure were exposed to varying oxygen concentrations and temperature, and their cardiac response was studied. S. mesatlantica is well adapted to these challenging conditions and capable of regulating its oxygen uptake down to very low concentrations (7.3–14.2 µmol l−1). In S. mesatlantica, this capacity most likely relies on an increased ventilation rate, while the heart rate remains stable down to this critical oxygen tension. When not exposed to temperature increase, hypoxia corresponds to metabolic hypoxia and the response likely only involves ventilation modulation, as in shallow-water relatives. For S. mesatlantica however, an environmental temperature increase is usually correlated with more pronounced hypoxia. Although the response to hypoxia is similar at 10 and 20 °C, temperature itself has a strong effect on the heart rate and EKG signal amplitude. As in shallow water species, the heart rate increases with temperature. Our study revealed that the range of thermal tolerance for S. mesatlantica ranges from 6 through 21 °C for specimens from the shallow site Menez Gwen (800 m), and from 3 through 19 °C for specimens from the deeper sites explored (2700–3000 m)