A single dead whale can nourish a specialized ecosystem that lasts for decades.
Some signs suggest that whale-fall ecosystems have exchanges with other deep-seafloor communities, such as hydrothermal vents.
Some signs suggest that whale-fall ecosystems have exchanges with other deep-seafloor communities, such as hydrothermal vents.
Dozens of communities that are supported by sunken whale carcasses and have described more than 400 species that are living in and around them, of which at least 30 have not been seen anywhere else.
One bone specimen trawled off the South African coast in 1964 was covered with the same small mussel first seen in 1854 in roughly the same area
Mussels were not the only new animals found in recovered whale bones: a tiny, previously unknown species of limpet—limpets are snail-like mollusks with conical rather than spiral shells— was described in 1985, soon followed by others.
A dead whale that sinks to the seafloor brings a sudden bonanza of food to the dark, desert like expanse. The community of organisms that springs up undergoes three ecological stages. Each stage is characterized by different species and different food webs— although at many such sites, the stages can overlap
The Scavenger stage - Hagfish—primordial relatives of vertebrates that are virtually blind and live on the muddy seafloor—eat much of the blubber and muscle tissue, helped by other scavengers, including sleeper sharks and some crabs. Duration: up to 2 years
The Opportunist Stage - Animals feed on leftover scraps of meat and blubber and on whale oil that has soaked the surrounding sediment. This second wave of scavengers includes snails, bristle worms and hooded shrimp. Meanwhile “zombie worms” begin to spread their roots into the bones and feed on their lipid content. Duration: up to 2 years.
Whale bones are extremely rich in lipids—a 40-ton whale carcass may contain 2,000 to 3,000 kilograms—and their decomposition is a slow process.
Sulfophilic stage- Anaerobic bacteria produce hydrogen sulfide, which other, “sulfophilic,” bacteria use for energy. The sulfophilic bacteria, in turn, support all other organisms. Mussels, tube worms and clams derive energy from sulfophilic bacteria that live symbiotically within them. Bristle worms and limpets feed on mats of such microbes. Crustaceans such as squat lobsters prey on other animals. Duration: up to 50 years
A large whale the sulfophilic stage can last up to 50 years, even perhaps a century.
Many fossil whales have been found over the past 150 years, it was only in 1992 that the first ancient whale-fall communities were recognized, in Washington State rocks from the Oligocene
. All these ancient whale-fall communities are recognized as such by the presence of mollusk fossils belonging to groups that host chemosynthetic bacteria or graze on microbial mats at chemosynthetic sites.
.Little informs the public that whale carcasses still provide a home to many marine life. The body of a dead whale has three stages . The first stage called the Scavenger stage - hagfish—primordial relatives of vertebrates that are virtually blind and live on the muddy seafloor—eat much of the blubber and muscle tissue, helped by other scavengers, including sleeper sharks and some crabs. The second stage called the Opportunist Stage - animals feed on leftover scraps of meat and blubber and on whale oil that has soaked the surrounding sediment. This second wave of scavengers includes snails, bristle worms and hooded shrimp. Meanwhile “zombie worms” begin to spread their roots into the bones and feed on their lipid content. The third stage is called sulfophilic stage- anaerobic bacteria produce hydrogen sulfide, which other, “sulfophilic,” bacteria use for energy. The sulfophilic bacteria, in turn, support all other organisms. Mussels, tube worms and clams derive energy from sulfophilic bacteria that live symbiotically within them. Bristle worms and limpets feed on mats of such microbes. Crustaceans such as squat lobsters prey on other animals.
I learned that a whale's body keeps on giving even when its dead. It's fascinating that ecosystems are depend it on a dead whale's body for food and shelter. This article open my eyes that even dead animals are important to other living organisms survival. Those ecosystems provide benefits to other marine lives.