Here’s what you will learn when you read this story:
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In 2023, scientists at the Los Angeles oxide Christmas collected 36 specimens living near Methane, along the Pacific coast from California to Alaska.
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After examining Arachnide -like creatures, they found that these deep marine species form a symbiotic connection with methylotrophic bacteria that provide a source of food in the dark aphotic zone of the terrain.
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This new study draws a more full picture of how the deep sea helps protect methane (powerful greenhouse gas) to escape into the atmosphere.
When you live in the aphotic zone of the ocean, where absolute darkness reigns, you need some creative solutions to some rather existential questions. Chief among them: What will you eat?
For a variety of ocean floor species, including mussels, worms and mushrooms, this corresponds to the chemosynthetic bacteria-organisms that thrive around methane, where gas avoids the earth’s crust. A new study shows that three types of Sea Spider genus genus Sericosura Also, demonstrate a similar ability that helps to explain why these spindle-legged organisms are in such abundance near methane. The study results are published in the magazine PDecreasing the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Despite the name, the sea spiders are not actually Spiders (however, this will probably have a little comfort for Arachnofob). Although they look remarkably similar, sea spiders have a thinner cephalotorax than their eight-end ground Lookalikes, and their legs tend to have more joints. Oh, and they also live in the deep ocean – one of the true final boundaries of the scientific study of biology. This inaccessible ecosystem is why many aspects of their lives remain a mystery.
“Our study aims to explore the ways in which frequently neglected animals can benefit from new energy sources, such as methane,” said in the press of the press, Shana Gofredi, a senior author of the Okcidential College Study in Los Angeles. “While the deep sea feels far away, all organisms are interconnected and the processes in one ecosystem affect another.”
In 2023, Gofors-Available with two students, including Bianca Dahl Bo-Pat thought on a two-week research expedition of R/V Atlantis to study these creatures in their deep -sea habitats. With the help of a manned submerged baptized AlvinThey examined and collected specimens of sea spider, located 1000 meters (3280 feet) below the ocean surface by del Mar and Palos Verdes penetrates California and Sanak Sipe into Alaska. Of the 36 restored specimens, three of the spiders represent brand new species.
“I had seen animal samples in preservatives in the laboratory for so long, so it was beautiful to finally see them moving in their natural habitat,” says Dahl Bo in a statement in the press. “It made me feel even more related to my project and these fascinating ecosystems.”
As they conducted experiments on board, gofors and gave BHU incubated sea spiders in seawater with methanol and heavy isotope of methane. Because this isotope is rare, researchers can monitor its effect on sea spiders, including if it is swallowed. They found that methylotrophic bacteria located on the exoskeletons of sea spiders serve as a source of food.
“Evidence of tissue isotope analysis, sequencing of microbiomes, and live-animal incubation, followed by 13The C-methane drilling of isotope confirms the active incorporation of carbon obtained from methane into the tissues of the spider, “the authors wrote.” This study emphasizes an unknown interaction between the animal line and the chemically powered germs, introducing another symbiotic path for a direct microbred transfer of methane in the animal bioa
This transfer of methane carbon to animal biomass is especially important for understanding scientists, as methane is one of the most powerful greenhouse gases. Sea spiders-with the help of other deep animals inhabiting the ocean-do their role to hold those gases closed in the ocean so that they do not reach the atmosphere and sharpen the ongoing climate crisis.
“While the deep sea feels really far, all organisms are interconnected,” Gofredi told CNN. “Although small, these animals have a great influence in this environment. We can never hope to resist (use) oceans if we don’t really understand the oceans.”
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