Follow for more talkers

Massive sponge gardens discovered deep below Arctic Ocean despite extreme lack of food or light

Avatar photo

Published

on
The dense sponge grounds discovered in the Arctic deep sea. (Alfred Wegener Institute via SWNS)

By Joe Morgan via SWNS

Massive sponge gardens have been discovered near the North Pole deep below the ice-covered Arctic Ocean despite the extreme lack of food or light.

The "surprisingly rich and densely populated ecosystem" was found on the peaks of extinct underwater volcanoes with sponges growing in large numbers and to an impressive size.

Sponges are one of the oldest animal groups found on Earth, dating back around 600 million years to the Precambrian period.

via GIPHY

But while they are one of the most basal forms of animal life, they are filter-feeding that need to consume tiny pieces of organic matter suspended in the water column.

Researchers exploring the underwater mountain range Langseth Ridge, not far from the North Pole, discovered the massive sponge gardens beneath the permanently ice-covered water's surface.

The researchers learned thousands of years ago, substances seeping from the seabed’s interior were supporting a rich ecosystem, home to a variety of animals

When they died out, their remnants remained and now these form the base of this unexpected sponge garden.

Professor Antje Boetius, at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, said: “Thriving on top of extinct volcanic seamounts of the Langseth Ridge we found massive sponge gardens, but did not know what they were feeding on."

“This is a unique ecosystem. We have never seen anything like it before in the high Central Arctic.

"In the study area, primary productivity in the overlying water provides less than one percent of the sponges’ carbon demand.

"Thus, this sponge garden may be a transient ecosystem, but it is rich in species, including soft corals.

The dense sponge grounds discovered in the Arctic deep sea on the northerly Langseth Ridge seamount structure represent an astonishingly rich ecosystem, demonstrating the ability of sponges and associated microorganisms to exploit a variety of refractory food sources including fossil seep detritus. (Alfred Wegener Institute via SWNS)

“With sea-ice cover rapidly declining and the ocean environment changing, a better knowledge of hotspot ecosystems is essential for protecting and managing the unique diversity of these Arctic seas under pressure."

Professor Ute Hentschel, from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, said: “The microbes have just the right toolbox for this habitat.

“The microbes have the genes to digest refractory particulate and dissolved organic matter and use it as a carbon and nitrogen source, as well as a number of chemical energy sources available there.”

First author Dr. Teresa Morganti, sponge expert, said: “Our analysis revealed that the sponges have microbial symbionts that are able to use old organic matter.

"This allows them to feed on the remnants of former, now extinct inhabitants of the seamounts, such as the tubes of worms composed of protein and chitin and other trapped detritus.

“Prior to our study, no similar sponge ground has been identified in the high Central Arctic, an area of the ice-covered ocean which remains understudied given the difficulties associated with observing and sampling such ice-covered deep-sea ecosystems."

The findings were published in the journal Nature Communications.

Stories and infographics by ‘Talker Research’ are available to download & ready to use. Stories and videos by ‘Talker News’ are managed by SWNS. To license content for editorial or commercial use and to see the full scope of SWNS content, please email [email protected] or submit an inquiry via our contact form.

Top Talkers