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Dear Cruise,
WOW. It must have been neat to see the six foot long tube worms! I think they're really interesting!!! But, I have a question, is there a way to know if they are male or female? I think they are really cool to learn about them.

There cool! Thanks a lot!
Sarah A
Ms. Sheild's Red Class
Lexington, MA

Dear Sarah:
A very good question! I have checked with Tim Shank and Craig Cary, and they tell me that the way you tell a male tubeworm from a female tubeworm is that the male has two grooves extending along the muscle. These grooves have "cilia" (or fine hair-like structures) in them, and are related to the way that the tubeworm releases sperm into the water column.

Thanks for the question -- visit us again!
Susan Humphris

Dear Susan Humphris,
I am a student of Ms. Sheild's and I am evaluating your site. So far, it is awesome! This summer I visited the Banff Hot springs; I was wondering about the Hydrothermal Vents at the bottom of the ocean. Are Hydrothermal Vents at the bottom of the ocean related to the Hot springs on the earth? If so how? Please write back!

Sincerely,
Andrew Ho

Dear Andrew:
Absolutely!! Both hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the ocean and hot springs on land are caused by the same processes. "Hydrothermal" means "hot water," so they are both hydrothermal vents and result from water that seeps into the ground being heated up by magma (molten rock) or hot solid rock and then returning to the surface. So -- somewhere deep below Banff, there must be hot rock that is heating the rainwater as it seeps into the ground.

Thanks for the question.
Susan Humphris

My name is Andrew Gordon O'Neil (watch that spelling). I am a member of Ms. Sheild's class. My amazingly stumptacular question is "If these vents are found at such low depths then why are the aquatic animals encircling them at all colorful?" What I mean is the fact that objects only are perceived as being a certain color because that is the color that bounces off of them. If an animal cannot be seen without artificial light why would it evolve to be of any color?

Dear Andrew:
That is not a painstakingly brain-boring question -- it is a REALLY good one, even though it sounds simple! I asked the biologists on board, and they had a long discussion about this one! One suggestion is that the animals that are red are scavengers; that is, they are eating dead things that used to live up closer to the surface. Those types of animals contain the red pigment, carotenoid, and very often, animals get colored based on what they eat! Another suggestion was that many of the animals have larval forms that live nearer the surface where they eat other organisms that contain red pigments; hence, the color is a holdover from when they were young. Yet another suggestion is that it is nothing to do with this, but a consequence of evolution. Many crustacea (crabs are one variety) are red, and perhaps through time, they have preserved that pigmentation. So - you see, there are lots of ideas, but it seems as if there is no clear answer. A good research project!

See you in April! Susan Humphris

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