To study this underwater ecosystem is much harder than to study ecosystems on land. Scientists have always been trying to find easier approaches in measuring the diversity of species, the geographic distribution of them and the quantity of species. 

A conventional approach would be seawater sampling, let alone the tedious process of extracting shed skin and blood cells and examining DNA shed by creatures, the process to filter huge amounts of water is time-consuming and cost-ineffective.

Dr Stefano Mariani of the University of Salford, in Britain, who is a Professor of Conservation Genetics, may have provided with an insight, that he argues the sponges growing on the sea floor are natural filters. They suck in liters of water and trap organic matter to digest. If the samples were collected from sponges, which may contain the cells shed by other organisms, this will permit us to conduct DNA analysis and access the biodiversity underwater.

Currently, researches have been conducted to test this idea by Dr Stefano Mariani and his colleagues. They remove some sponges’ pieces, with five samples from Antarctica and four from the Mediterranean. They have found that in the Antarctic samples, Weddell seals, chinstrap penguins and Perknaster aurantiacus (starfish) are found and in the Mediterranean samples, rock gobies, sardines and horse mackerel are found. In total, 31 different groups of animal were found, although it is still hard to allocate them into specific species. 

While this idea definitely needs more refinement and improvement, it certainly presented us a new approach in measuring and monitoring the diversity of marine organisms. 

Reference: https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2019/06/05/using-sponges-to-census-the-ocean

Picture credit: Pixabay