In the coast of California, creatures have been discovered. This crawlers from the Pacific Ocean have been called spider blobs, and they lives near the methane seeps (at the bottom of the ocean). Scientists describe the shape of the animal to be “arachnid,” because from its shape, texture and transparent looks, it kind of looks like a spider. But the most interesting things is that this gelatinous shapes are covered by methane-oxidizing bacteria, which are bacteria that eat methane. And that gas they eat, is part of the greenhouse gases that contributes to climate change if it ever reaches the atmosphere.
Scientific diving teams picked samples and used images from the bottom of the ocean, genetic analyses and chemical tests. Why is this so important? Because if these organisms help trap part of the methane that comes out from the marine floor, then they could be playing a quiet role in the marine ecosystems health.
The discovery is not going to stop all the greenhouse gases, but could these creatures help keep methane from reaching the air?
What are spider blobs, and why are they at methane seeps?
Spider blobs were discovered close to methane seeps, and in this locations on the seafloor, methane leaks into the ocean from underground. Scientists collected them by scientific diving in the Pacific Ocean off California, documented their lives with photographs and videos, and then used chemical tests and genetic analysis to determine their composition and functions.
Because of their shape, kind of translucent nature, and thing and long legs, they have been referring to them as “spider blobs.”
But the surface its what’s most intriguing becasue Methane-oxidizing bacteria cover these blobs. These microorganisms consume methane and transform it into beneficial substances like fats and sugars. To put it another way, some of the methane that escapes the seafloor can be stoped and broken down in the water before floating to the surface.
And this is significant because methane is one of the potent greenhouse gases, and if it enters the atmosphere then it contributes to climate change. So, in order to keep the balance of the marine ecosystems, scientists are mostly concentrating on the basics, like where spider blobs live, how they feed, and how much methane they might contribute to removing underwater.
What does this mean for climate change?
This creatures are not drawing air from the atmosphere. They’re just actually interacting with methane in the ocean, which seeps on the seafloor. But, the amount of methane that enters the atmosphere and contributes to greenhouse gases and climate change may decrease if less of the gas rises to the surface.
There are still a lot of questions about this; What is the actual amount of methane that these bacteria can process? Does this happen at all of the seeps or only in specific locations in the Pacific Ocean off California? Scientists are working to be able to respond them with more genetic analysis, imaging, and scientific diving.
What comes next for research
These kinds of discoveries are fascinating because they make connections between a variety of topics at once, like greenhouse gases, climate change, methane seeps, and weird underground creatures.
Future research has still to be done, and it will probably focus on 3 things: Mesurement, which involves calculating the amount of methane consumed by methane-oxidizing bacteria on spider blobs and how that varies depending on location. Then ecology, because it illustrates the interactions and roles of spider blobs in regional food webs. And finally consistency, like observing if similar organisms show up at other methane seeps in the Pacific Ocean outside of California.
All of this needs careful scientific diving, better seafloor imaging, and deeper genetic analysis to avoid harming the very marine ecosystems we want to study.