First Video Of Whale Fall. The Mystery Afterlife Of Earth's Biggest Animals
The discovery was made almost a mile below the surface in an undersea crater and includes at least nine new species of deep-sea organisms, which were found thriving on the bones. The research, involving the University of Southampton, Natural History Museum, British Antarctic Survey, National Oceanography Centre and Oxford University, is published online in Deep-Sea Research II: Topical Studies in Oceanography.
“The planet’s largest animals are also a part of the ecology of the very deep ocean, providing a rich habitat of food and shelter for deep sea animals for many years after their death,” says Diva Amon, lead author of the paper and PhD student from the University of Southampton and the Natural History Museum. Diva is based in the Graduate School of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (GSNOCS). “Examining the remains of this whale gives insight into how nutrients are recycled in the ocean, which may be a globally important process in our oceans.”
Worldwide, only six natural whale skeletons have ever been found on the sea floor. Scientists have previously studied whale carcasses, known as ‘whale falls’, by sinking bones and whole carcasses. Despite large populations of whales in the Antarctic, whale falls have not been studied in this region until now.
When a whale dies and sinks to the ocean floor, scavengers quickly strip its flesh. Over time, other organisms colonise the skeleton and gradually use up its remaining nutrients. Bacteria break down the fats stored in whale bones and in turn provide food for other marine life. A species called Osedax – commonly known as the zombie worm – can also digest whale bone.
By studying this colony of deep-sea creatures, the researchers are learning more about how species evolve and disperse in the ocean depths. “One of the great remaining mysteries of deep ocean biology is how these tiny invertebrates can disperse between isolated habitats on the sea floor,” says co-author Dr Adrian Glover from the Natural History Museum in London. “Our discovery fills important gaps in this knowledge, and will further our understanding of two fundamental biological concepts – the dispersal and evolution of organisms.”
Source: http://nanopatentsandinnovations.blogspot.com/2013/05/first-video-of-whale-fall-mystery.html
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