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Marine Science
Deep-sea tube worms alter their environment
March 31st, 2003
Tube worms living at deep-sea oil seeps in the Gulf of Mexico significantly alter their habitat, similar to beavers altering the flow of a river. Researchers from Pennsylvania State University reported their finding in the journal Ecology Letters. A computer model of tube worm aggregations was created for Lamellibrachia luymesi, which is among the longest lived animals known. Both actual and model populations persist for centuries and take up high quantities of sulfide from seep sediments. Tube worms live off sulfide (the toxic chemical responsible for the smell of rotten eggs) by supplying it to internal bacteria,...
Source: Life Science Weekly (2003-03-31)
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