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Deep-diving technology finds little filter feeder has giant carbon cycling impact
by Staff Writers
Washington DC (SPX) May 04, 2017


Bathochordaeus is considered a giant among larvaceans. The giant larvacean's claim to fame is the huge mucous house it builds. The house is made up of two filters and basically functions as an elaborate feeding apparatus. They eat tiny particles of dead or drifting plants and animals that float through the water column. The outer filter traps larger particles too big for the animal to eat, while the inner filter guides smaller food particles into the larvacean's mouth. Eventually the filters get clogged and the larvacean abandons them. The sinking houses, packed with food. See video here

Deep-diving Technology Finds Little Filter Feeder Has Giant Carbon Cycling Impact: Using a novel deep-sea technology, scientists have measured for the first time how a species of zooplankton called giant larvaceans contributes to the transfer of atmospheric carbon to the deep ocean. Data from the instrument DeepPIV revealed that giant larvaceans filter carbon particles at higher rates than any other zooplankton filter feeder.

The technology may also be used for more accurate measurements of carbon removal by other deep-water organisms, an essential parameter for modeling oceanic ecosystems. Giant larvaceans, which are approximately pinky finger-sized plankton, live in the upper 400 meters of the ocean and build filtering "houses" so fragile that they cannot be analyzed in a lab.

As giant larvaceans beat their tails, they propel particles from the water into these mucus houses for digestion. What's more, when the larvaceans discard their old, nutrient-rich houses, these structures sink to the sea floor, a significant contribution to moving organic materials into deeper water.

Until now, scientists have only been able to estimate giant larvacean filtration rates based off the rates of other zooplankton.

To measure their contribution more directly, Kakani Katija and colleagues launched DeepPIV, which deployed from a remotely operated vehicle and visualized fluid motion, in Monterey Bay, California.

Katija et al. observed giant larvaceans and other zooplankton in the genus Bathochordaeus and collected 24 flow measurements. They found that one blue-tailed species of giant larvaceans had a filtration rate higher than the previously reported record-holding plankton, salps.

By combining filtration rates with data on larvacean abundance, Katija et al. calculated the zooplankton could filter their 200 meter principal depth range in Monterey Bay in 13 days. As a next step, the scientists hope to compare the filtering rates at this site to areas around the world that are home to giant larvaceans.

Research paper

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Graphene withstands high pressure, may aid in desalination
La Jolla, CA (SPX) Apr 27, 2017
Professor Klaus Ley, M.D., has been selected as this year's winner of the Eugene M. Landis Award, the Microcirculatory Society's top honor, in recognition of his pioneering work in vascular biology and microcirculation. The microcirculation comprises all the small blood vessels in all tissues and organs and their contents (blood plasma and blood cells). A member of the Microcirculatory Soc ... read more

Related Links
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Carbon Worlds - where graphite, diamond, amorphous, fullerenes meet


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