search
deep-sea corals
Trends
- 1Bottom trawling and deep-sea mining compared as twin threats●What makes bottom trawling and proposed deep-sea mining twin horrors is that same fundamental mechanism: taking ecosyste
Commenters are drawing a direct parallel between bottom trawling and proposed deep-sea mining, arguing both inflict the same kind of damage: destroying marine ecosystems that operate on geological timescales. Corals that grow millimeters a year and sediment settled over centuries can be wiped out in moments, with recovery effectively impossible on human timescales. The comparison is being used to argue against opening the deep seabed to mining.
- 2Bacteria on coral reef fish gills carry chemosynthesis genes●DNA reveals chemosynthesis genes in bacteria living on coral reef fish gills
Researchers have found that bacteria living on the gills of coral reef fish carry genes for chemosynthesis, the process of making food from chemicals rather than sunlight. DNA analysis revealed these genetic pathways in the gill microbes, suggesting reef fish may host bacteria capable of producing nutrients in ways previously associated with deep-sea ecosystems rather than sunlit reefs.