Explanation:

These are areas of the seafloor where gases and fluids are released without incurring a significant temperature rise in the surrounding environment.
.Seeps form by a variety of processes related to overpressuring (e.g. of sediments, or from mineral dehydration reactions and gas hydrate dynamics).
.These are among the most recently discovered marine habitats: the first such system was found in the Gulf of Mexico; highest number occurring within active subduction zones in the Pacific Ocean.
The habitat created by seeps is linked to the chemicals (e.g. sulphide) they release. These chemicals support a number of chemosynthetic species. Chemosynthesis is the equivalent to photosynthesis, but organisms produce energy from chemicals (e.g. sulphur)instead of sunlight. Chemosynthetic species range from single-celled organisms (e.g. bacteria) that live in the surrounding sediment and utilise the methane produced, to communities of large invertebrate taxa including clams, mussels or worms.
Populations of these larger more complex invertebrates are sustained thanks to symbiotic bacteria that carry out chemosynthesis. Despite the relatively high biomass found within cold seep areas, species diversity is frequently low.