Are hydrothermal vents the place to look for life outside Earth?
Most life on Earth derives energy from the sun, but chemoautotrophic microbes utilize available compounds and minerals to create a food chain not based on the sun. Sulfur, which is toxic to most species, is specifically utilized for energy production. Along with the microbes, an entire ecosystem of multicellular organisms exists, some of which include vertebrates.
Since this ecosystem exists independently of solar energy input and hydrothermal vents have been located outside of Earth, do you think these would be the place to look for life on other planets? Do you think if hydrothermal vent communities were found on other planets they would look similar to the ones on Earth?
