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Abstract

Animal Biology studies have always benefited from the achievement of experiments on live animals, which obviously provide data on dynamic aspects of physiology. When it comes to deep-sea fauna, in vivo experiments are impaired, and in some cases impossible, due to the severe and often lethal stress experienced by animals throughout the sampling process. However, freshly collected deep fauna may be maintained alive and in good condition, by using specific aquaria which restore environmental conditions prevailing at depth in situ. Here we describe the pressure device named “Incubateur Pressurisé pour l’Observation et la Culture d’Animaux Marins Profonds”, or IPOCAMP, and provide an overview of the studies which were achieved using this pressure aquarium, with a particular focus on thermal biology of deep-sea vent fauna.

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