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DO NOT USE UNTIL PROFESSIONAL TITLE IS CHANGED - Emeritus Professor Marine Biosciences
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They're found at the bottom of the ocean in special locations around the world. Hydrothermal vents are a bit like underwater miniature volcanoes. They're among the hottest and coldest spots on our planet. I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet.

Craig Cary is an associate professor at the University of Delaware's College of Marine Studies. He's been investigating a series of hydrothermal vents, or chimneys, off the coast of Costa Rica. This extreme environment is home to some rather unique creatures, including the aptly named, Pompeii worm.

"The Pompeii worm is about 3 to 4 centimeters, maybe up to 8 centimeters, in length. They build small, papery-like tubes on the side of chimneys, in large colonies. Hot water from the hydrothermal vents is flowing out of the side of the chimney as well as out the top. And that hot water then travels through the colony, maintaining a relatively high temperature and creating a hospitable environment for this worm. And it loves it there, because it's hot, and the predators of the worm can't come in - it's just too hot for the predators. One thing you always have to remember about the deep ocean, is that the water temperature down there is almost freezing - 2 degrees Celsius on the outside- and in the hydrothermal vent may be as high as 90, and so this worm is not only the most thermal tolerant animal of its kind on the planet, but it's also the most eurythermal - and what we mean by eurythermal is that it can tolerate a very broad temperature gradient - and most invertebrates just can't do that. So there's a lot of really interesting things about how and where this animal positions itself, and we're trying to get a much better sense about how this is all tied together."

To hear about our CD, please visit pulseplanet.com. Pulse of the Planet is made possible by the National Science Foundation. I'm Jim Metzner.

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