Stable isotopic insights into Bathymodiolus childressi at two seeps in the U.S. Atlantic margin

Chemosynthetic environments support distinct benthic communities capable of utilizing reduced chemical compounds for nutrition. Hundreds of methane seeps have been documented along the U.S. Atlantic margin (USAM), and detailed investigations at a few seeps have revealed distinct environments containing mussels, microbial mats, authigenic carbonates, and soft sediments. The dominant mussel Bathymodiolus childressi contains methanotrophic endosymbionts but is also capable of filter feeding. We used SIA (δ13C, δ 5N, and δ34S) and an isotope mixing model (MixSIAR) to estimate resource contribution to B. childressi and characterize food webs at two seep sites (Baltimore Seep: 400 m and Norfolk Seep: 1500 m depths) along the USAM, and applied a linear mixed-effects model to explore the role of mussel population density and tissue type in influencing SIA variance.

Data and Resources

Field Value
accessLevel public
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identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/usgs-5babd8ede4b08583a5cf536d
metadata_type geospatial
modified 2020-08-30T00:00:00Z
old-spatial -74.5340, 36.8360, -73.7790, 38.0890
publisher U.S. Geological Survey
resource-type Dataset
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spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-74.5340, 36.8360], [-74.5340, 38.0890], [ -73.7790, 38.0890], [ -73.7790, 36.8360], [-74.5340, 36.8360]]]}
theme {geospatial}
Groups
  • AmeriGEOSS
  • National Provider
  • North America
Tags
  • AmeriGEO
  • AmeriGEOSS
  • CKAN
  • GEO
  • GEOSS
  • National
  • North America
  • United States
  • atlantic-ocean
  • baltimore-canyon
  • biota
  • ecology
  • environment
  • norfolk-canyon
  • seep-and-vent-ecosystems
  • stable-isotope-analysis
  • usgs-5babd8ede4b08583a5cf536d
isopen False
license_id notspecified
license_title License not specified
maintainer Amanda W Demopoulos
maintainer_email ademopoulos@usgs.gov
metadata_created 2025-09-23T21:03:24.435563
metadata_modified 2025-09-23T21:03:24.435573
notes Chemosynthetic environments support distinct benthic communities capable of utilizing reduced chemical compounds for nutrition. Hundreds of methane seeps have been documented along the U.S. Atlantic margin (USAM), and detailed investigations at a few seeps have revealed distinct environments containing mussels, microbial mats, authigenic carbonates, and soft sediments. The dominant mussel Bathymodiolus childressi contains methanotrophic endosymbionts but is also capable of filter feeding. We used SIA (δ13C, δ 5N, and δ34S) and an isotope mixing model (MixSIAR) to estimate resource contribution to B. childressi and characterize food webs at two seep sites (Baltimore Seep: 400 m and Norfolk Seep: 1500 m depths) along the USAM, and applied a linear mixed-effects model to explore the role of mussel population density and tissue type in influencing SIA variance.
num_resources 2
num_tags 17
title Stable isotopic insights into Bathymodiolus childressi at two seeps in the U.S. Atlantic margin