Recent research has identified four different invertebrate groupings not found on any other glaciers in the world. Photo / ODT
Recent research has identified four different invertebrate groupings not found on any other glaciers in the world. Photo / ODT
Scientists are pondering the discovery of a previously unknown ecosystem of tiny creatures living in the ice high on South Island maritime glaciers.
Recent research has identified four different invertebrate groupings not found on any other glaciers in the world.
At least 12 undescribed species of five different macroinvertebrate types are thriving in the niche habitat in the Southern Alps.
These animal phyla were found at the Fox, Franz Joseph and Whataroa Glaciers living in ice, under snow in the snow compaction zone rather than in meltwater.
Many of the creatures are microscopic, but the largest, about 0.7mm long, can be seen with the naked eye.
''I'm really puzzled,'' University of Otago geneticist Peter Dearden said yesterday.
''We need to find out so much more.
''We don't even know what food they need to survive, nor if these new species are comparable to animal diversity in other glaciers around the world,'' Prof Dearden said.
''The most interesting [question] is how they come to live there [2000m-2500m up on the top of glaciers].
''The findings identify not only an atypical biodiversity hotspot but also highlight the adaptive nature of macroinvertebrates,'' he said.
University of Otago geneticist Peter Dearden at his office in the university's biochemistry department. Photo / Linda Robertson
It was hoped understanding the genomics of the microorganisms would help to monitor and understand the wider effects of global warming on glaciers.
This research has been published in the international journal Scientific Reports.
All the species have independently adapted to life in an extreme environment, and some have persisted from the ice age.
The initial work was carried out by Daniel Shain and Anthony Geneva from the State University of New Jersey, with Phillip Novis, of Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research, and Krzysztof Zawierucha, of Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland.
The new species discovered include shrimp-like arthropoda, an invertebrate with a segmented body; roundworms; flatworms; tardigrade, an eight-legged creature also called a water bear or moss piglet; and rotifera, a microscopic ''wheel animal''.
DNA was extracted from individual macroinvertebrates from ice samples taken at three glaciers last year.
