COSEE Ocean Systems: News
One of World's Oldest Animals Records Ocean Climate Change
Description: The glass sponge, Monorhaphis chuni, found in the Pacific Ocean at depths below about 1,000 meters, can live for several millennia and produce a single giant basal spicule that can reach 3 meters in length. In a new study, data is collected from five sponges ranging in age from 5,000 to 18,000 years. The M. chuni sponges were collected alive from the depths of the East China Sea, South China Sea, and southwest Pacific. Their spicules are silent sentinels that record changes in the ocean content of dissolved silica, an essential seawater nutrient. [Source: EOS: Earth & Space Science News] <!-- It's a living fossil, so I included 'Fossil record' as one of the Related Concepts -->
URL: https://eos.org/research-spotlights/one-of-worlds-oldest-animals-records-ocean-climate-change
Availability: Full Text
Source: EOS: Earth & Space Science News
Publish Date: 2/27/2018
Reading Level: Basic
Page Length:  

<< BACK