Researchers Find Whale-Fall Sulphophilic Stage Lasts 21 Years, May Persist Another Decade
Updated
Updated · BBC Discover Wildlife · May 26
Researchers Find Whale-Fall Sulphophilic Stage Lasts 21 Years, May Persist Another Decade
1 articles · Updated · BBC Discover Wildlife · May 26
Summary
A whale carcass nearly a mile deep off Vancouver Island remained in its sulphophilic decomposition stage for at least 21 years, based on repeated seafloor surveys from 2009 to 2023.
Fifteen years of ROV imaging and cm-scale photogrammetry showed the mandible shrank 1.4% and 22 vertebrae 7.8% as white sulphur-feeding microbial mats spread across the bones.
Zombie worms were present early in the survey but gone by the end, while other sulphophilic species including tube worms and vesicomyid clams appeared, indicating the stage could continue for another decade.
The finding suggests whale-fall specialist species may have longer-lasting habitat on the seafloor than some earlier studies predicted, though expanding oxygen-minimum zones could disrupt bone erosion and reduce biodiversity.