Researchers Find Whale-Fall Ecosystem at 6,789 Meters, Shattering 4,204-Meter Record
Updated
Updated · spacedaily.com · Jun 20
Researchers Find Whale-Fall Ecosystem at 6,789 Meters, Shattering 4,204-Meter Record
3 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · Jun 20
Summary
A whale-fall ecosystem in the Diamantina Zone of the southeastern Indian Ocean was reported at 6,789 meters, extending the deepest confirmed natural whale-fall habitat far beyond the previous 4,204-meter record.
That find matters because a single whale carcass can become a long-lived deep-sea oasis, with scavengers stripping soft tissue first and bacteria later fueling chemosynthetic communities from fats locked in the bones.
190 species of macroscopic seafloor animals have been found on one whale skeleton, and the sulfophilic stage alone can last roughly 10 to 50 years, with one large whale-fall community tracked for more than 50 years.
Osedax bone-eating worms are central to the final breakdown of whale bones; researchers say an individual worm can feed on one carcass for about a decade, not the far longer spans often claimed.
Since natural whale falls have mostly been found by chance since 1987, scientists still cannot say how many active sites exist now—only that the few observed likely represent a tiny fraction of those on the deep seafloor.