| Energy Flow | |
| Experiment: | The energy flow through the vent system will be investigated and recorded. This includes trophic levels and symbiotic relationships. |
| Justification: | The energy flow through an ecosystem is crucial to a complete understanding of the system. The food and energy web of the hydrothermal vent system must be understood if the observations and understandings gained in earlier experiments are to be put in full context. |
| Procedure: | The method of this experiment is a combination of several methods and observations used in previous experiments. In situ imaging observation will allow for observation of predation among vent organisms. The symbiotic relationships explored in an earlier experiment will be added into the observations of the ecosystem. The real work of this experiment lies in the analysis, in which the many pieces of information gathered in the months of observation and experiment will be pieced together to form a detailed picture of the vent food web. |