Theory 27/Deep sea
Vent Symbiosis Needs Vent Lifetime
The claim
Symbiont transmission strategy at vents is set by the ratio of vent lifetime to host generation time, so short-lived vents select for horizontal acquisition.
01Mechanism
Vertical transmission requires the vent to persist across host generations; when it does not, hosts must acquire symbionts from the environment at each new site.
02Predictions
- P1Transmission mode should track the ratio.
- P2Host phylogeny alone should mispredict.
03Refutation
Transmission fixed by lineage would remove the habitat lifetime.
04Why it resists the grid
The habitat is ephemeral and the symbiosis is obligate, so neither partner can be said to have a niche.