Latest news with #invertebrates
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Super Natural by Alex Riley review – the creatures that can survive anywhere
Atop the gloop that swirls on subterranean pools in Romania's Movile cave, a host of mostly translucent, unseeing creatures scrabbles around. These singular beasties – centipedes, spiders, scorpions, leeches, snails and woodlice – derive their daily nutrients from slimy mats of sulphur-loving bacteria that thrive in the oxygen-poor atmosphere. This unique ecosystem was isolated for more than 5m years until 1986, when drilling for a potential power plant pierced the cave's walls. As the science writer Alex Riley reports in Super Natural, 37 out of the 52 invertebrate species living in the 240-metre-long space – which sits 21 metres below the surface near the Black Sea coast – exist nowhere else on Earth. While our ancestors were evolving in the intervening aeons – learning how to use fire, circling the globe, discovering petroleum and then polluting the atmosphere with greenhouse gases – 'the animals in Movile cave slurped up their microbial crop' oblivious to the world outside. They represent just a few of the exotic species that populate Riley's fascinating portrait of how life survives despite radiation, desiccation, the heat of the Sahara, freezing polar temperatures, total darkness, extended famine, lack of oxygen and the oceans' abyssal depths. Among them are the hardy tardigrades, cute little invertebrate 'moss piglets' half a millimetre long that can withstand 'unimaginable extremes', including 'freezing to near absolute zero, boiling heat, pulverising radiation, the vacuum of space' (they've been taken into orbit several times). But there are also more familiar creatures, including mammals and birds. Within the Chornobyl exclusion zone, wild Przewalski's horses – a once near-extinct species – thrive and reproduce despite the lingering radiation. In North America, the common poorwill (or hölchoko, 'the sleeping one' in Hopi) is the only bird known to hibernate, lowering its body temperature to 5C (41F) and remaining in this torpid state for weeks. The deep ocean was once regarded as hostile to any form of life, with 19th-century biologists such as Louis Agassiz deeming it 'quite impassable for marine animals'. There was no sustenance for them , he wrote, 'and it is doubtful if animals could sustain the pressure of so great a column of water'. That turned out to be wrong, and in 2022 scientists were able to film the Pseudoliparis snailfish at 8,336 metres below sea level off the coast of Japan – a depth roughly equivalent to the height of Everest. It doesn't stop there. 'Sea stars, isopods, sea cucumbers, glass sponges: all have representatives that filter water or sediment to feed in waters over 10 kilometers down.' The most common are scavenging crustaceans that feed on the dead organisms falling from above – one of which, the supergiant amphipod Alicella gigantea, looks like a flea and can grow to the size of a rat. Sadly, their diet has begun to change. Dissecting an amphipod collected in the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific, ecologist Johanna Weston 'found a blue microscopic fibre inside its stomach. Just over half a millimetre long and shaped like an archer's bow, it was a sliver of polyethylene terephthalate.' That's the plastic used in water bottles, and Weston named the species Eurythenes plasticus. Related: More than 5,000 new species discovered in Pacific deep-sea mining hotspot This all sounds depressing, but the book isn't, and Riley writes with levity and self-deprecating humour. 'Observing an animal so indifferent to my existence was comforting,' he writes as he focuses his microscope on a tardigrade he has extracted from a clump of moss. The minutes he spends observing this tiny animal with its 'eight chubby legs' open 'a tiny portal into a world beyond humanity'. It's also oddly comforting to realise that nature is highly resilient, enduring five mass extinctions before the current, sixth one. The Permian extinction, caused by volcanic activity 252m years ago, killed 96% of all life in the oceans. And yet, by clearing the seabed of rugose corals and trilobites, 'a new world of predatory cephalopods, crabs, snails, sharks, bony fish and marine reptiles could emerge', writes Riley. And, whatever happens, you can bet that near-indestructible tardigrades will continue plodding along. 'Life, once it has emerged on a planet, is very hard to destroy.' • Super Natural: How Life Thrives in Impossible Places by Alex Riley is published by Atlantic (£22). To support the Guardian order your copy at Delivery charges may apply.
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Super Natural by Alex Riley review – the creatures that can survive anywhere
Atop the gloop that swirls on subterranean pools in Romania's Movile cave, a host of mostly translucent, unseeing creatures scrabbles around. These singular beasties – centipedes, spiders, scorpions, leeches, snails and woodlice – derive their daily nutrients from slimy mats of sulphur-loving bacteria that thrive in the oxygen-poor atmosphere. This unique ecosystem was isolated for more than 5m years until 1986, when drilling for a potential power plant pierced the cave's walls. As the science writer Alex Riley reports in Super Natural, 37 out of the 52 invertebrate species living in the 240-metre-long space – which sits 21 metres below the surface near the Black Sea coast – exist nowhere else on Earth. While our ancestors were evolving in the intervening aeons – learning how to use fire, circling the globe, discovering petroleum and then polluting the atmosphere with greenhouse gases – 'the animals in Movile cave slurped up their microbial crop' oblivious to the world outside. They represent just a few of the exotic species that populate Riley's fascinating portrait of how life survives despite radiation, desiccation, the heat of the Sahara, freezing polar temperatures, total darkness, extended famine, lack of oxygen and the oceans' abyssal depths. Among them are the hardy tardigrades, cute little invertebrate 'moss piglets' half a millimetre long that can withstand 'unimaginable extremes', including 'freezing to near absolute zero, boiling heat, pulverising radiation, the vacuum of space' (they've been taken into orbit several times). But there are also more familiar creatures, including mammals and birds. Within the Chornobyl exclusion zone, wild Przewalski's horses – a once near-extinct species – thrive and reproduce despite the lingering radiation. In North America, the common poorwill (or hölchoko, 'the sleeping one' in Hopi) is the only bird known to hibernate, lowering its body temperature to 5C (41F) and remaining in this torpid state for weeks. The deep ocean was once regarded as hostile to any form of life, with 19th-century biologists such as Louis Agassiz deeming it 'quite impassable for marine animals'. There was no sustenance for them , he wrote, 'and it is doubtful if animals could sustain the pressure of so great a column of water'. That turned out to be wrong, and in 2022 scientists were able to film the Pseudoliparis snailfish at 8,336 metres below sea level off the coast of Japan – a depth roughly equivalent to the height of Everest. It doesn't stop there. 'Sea stars, isopods, sea cucumbers, glass sponges: all have representatives that filter water or sediment to feed in waters over 10 kilometers down.' The most common are scavenging crustaceans that feed on the dead organisms falling from above – one of which, the supergiant amphipod Alicella gigantea, looks like a flea and can grow to the size of a rat. Sadly, their diet has begun to change. Dissecting an amphipod collected in the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific, ecologist Johanna Weston 'found a blue microscopic fibre inside its stomach. Just over half a millimetre long and shaped like an archer's bow, it was a sliver of polyethylene terephthalate.' That's the plastic used in water bottles, and Weston named the species Eurythenes plasticus. Sign up to Bookmarks Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you after newsletter promotion This all sounds depressing, but the book isn't, and Riley writes with levity and self-deprecating humour. 'Observing an animal so indifferent to my existence was comforting,' he writes as he focuses his microscope on a tardigrade he has extracted from a clump of moss. The minutes he spends observing this tiny animal with its 'eight chubby legs' open 'a tiny portal into a world beyond humanity'. It's also oddly comforting to realise that nature is highly resilient, enduring five mass extinctions before the current, sixth one. The Permian extinction, caused by volcanic activity 252m years ago, killed 96% of all life in the oceans. And yet, by clearing the seabed of rugose corals and trilobites, 'a new world of predatory cephalopods, crabs, snails, sharks, bony fish and marine reptiles could emerge', writes Riley. And, whatever happens, you can bet that near-indestructible tardigrades will continue plodding along. 'Life, once it has emerged on a planet, is very hard to destroy.' Super Natural: How Life Thrives in Impossible Places by Alex Riley is published by Atlantic (£22). To support the Guardian order your copy at Delivery charges may apply.
Telegraph
27-05-2025
- Science
- Telegraph
Microplastics found in insects for first time
Microplastics have been found in insects for the first time, raising fears that the entire food chain has been contaminated by plastic pollution. Researchers have discovered fragments of plastic in the stomachs of beetles, slugs, snails and earthworms, with the pollutants then making their way up the food chain to birds, mammals, reptiles, and ultimately humans. The study, by scientists at Sussex and Exeter universities, is the first to find plastics consistently turning up across an entire ecosystem of land invertebrates. The researchers say the chemicals released by degrading plastics in soil pose serious risks to biodiversity, with previous studies linking ingestion of plastic to stunted growth, organ damage, and reduced fertility in animals. Their study analysed more than 580 insect samples from 51 sites including suburban, grassland and agricultural areas. It detected microplastics in nearly 12 per cent (one in eight) of the specimens. Earthworms had the highest contamination rate at 30 per cent, followed by slugs and snails at 24 per cent. One common garden black beetle had ingested a piece of nylon that was 4.5mm long, a quarter its body length. Polyester, commonly shed from clothing, was the most frequently detected plastic type. Researchers suspect it has come from dried human sewage sludge which is used as fertiliser by some farmers and contains fibres from washing machines. Prof Fiona Mathews, an environmental biologist at the University of Sussex, said the research suggested microplastics were now 'ubiquitous at every level of the food web'. A food web is a complex network made up of all of the food chains in an ecosystem. Herbivores and decomposers – such as worms and slugs – were found to be the most heavily contaminated. However, carnivorous insects like ladybirds were also affected, often ingesting larger plastic particles through their prey. Emily Thrift, a PhD student at the University of Sussex and the lead researcher on the study, said the findings were 'surprising and deeply concerning'. 'This is the first study to find plastics consistently turning up across an entire community of land invertebrates,' she said. 'Similar plastic types have previously been found in hedgehog faeces and appear to be entering the diet of birds, mammals and reptiles via their invertebrate prey.' Prof Mathews said that until now attention had been focused on plastics in 'visible litter' but added that the findings 'suggest multiple hidden sources – from clothing fibres to paint particles'. 'There is now an urgent need to understand how different types of plastics are affecting ecosystems, and to take steps to reduce their release into the environment,' she said. Prof Tamara Galloway, a co-author of the study from Exeter University, said: 'To reduce the uptake of microplastics into the food web we first have to understand how it is getting there. 'Emily's results are a crucial first step to understanding this process and its consequences for wildlife.' Quarter of land insects already lost The researchers say their work, which spans six invertebrate groups and four levels of the food chain, highlights the need for broader environmental monitoring and stronger measures to limit plastic pollution. Previous studies have shown that the world has lost more than a quarter of its land-dwelling insects. The insights on plastic pollution in invertebrates follows similar research into its impact on the marine environment with more than 12 million tons of plastic dumped into the ocean annually. There are estimated to be around 51 trillion microscopic pieces of plastic in the oceans, weighing 269,000 tons. UK households throw away 1.7 billion pieces of plastic packaging a week, according to the Big Plastic Count 2024.
The Herald
15-05-2025
- The Herald
Tiny creatures are big business: Smuggled ants worth R4,163 each on black market
While much of the world's attention is focused on the poaching of charismatic megafauna like elephants, pangolins and rhinos, a quieter, less visible crisis is unfolding beneath our feet, one involving some of the smallest animals on the planet — invertebrates. Earlier this year, two Belgian teenagers were apprehended in Kenya with 5,000 ants in their possession. They were given a choice of paying a fine of $7,700 (R139,372) or serving a minimum 12-month prison sentence under Kenya's wildlife conservation laws. Senior lecturer in invertebrate biology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal Caswell Munyai said the global trafficking of ants, spiders, scorpions and other invertebrates, or smuggling, is complex and diverse. 'Besides being traded for food, most invertebrates are targeted for their use in traditional medicine. Also there has been a growing demand for trading arthropods targeted for the pet trade,' said Munyai. According to Ant Authority, queen ants can cost between $20 (R362) and $60 (R1,086), depending on species and season. Rare species like the jumper jack or bull ant queens go for up to $230 (R4,163) and $120 (R2 172) respectively. Though common pavement ants might only sell for about $27 (R489), the more exotic species, especially those from the Global South, are a hot commodity on online marketplaces, which is often illegal. 'Some of the most trafficked or well-known invertebrates involved in trading between global markets are those in the phylum mollusca, which includes snails, mussels, octopus and arthropods, such as insects, spiders,' said Munyai. 'For mollusca, they are heavily trafficked due to the high demand for seafood and their shells, which are probably used in jewellery and decorative items.' Munyai said when it comes to arthropods, ants, spiders, stick insects and scorpions are particularly targeted. 'There has been a spike in the past decade or two, particularly involving arthropods being trafficked from countries in the Global South and sold in developed countries.' While the motivations are diverse, some are collected for use in exotic food dishes or traditional medicine while others are sold in pet shops or online and destined for formicariums in homes far removed from their native habitats, he said. Beyond the legal and ethical concerns, the ecological consequences of invertebrate trafficking are immense. 'Despite the obvious impact related to the disruption of the natural balance of the ecosystem where these species occur, the trade has cascading negative effects. It affects food chains, species interactions and even ecosystem service provisioning and functioning,' said Munyai. A recent case that illustrates the problem starkly is that of an attempt to smuggle the African Harvester Ant out of Kenya last month. Munyai said this species plays a critical role in seed dispersal, helping maintain the health of native ecosystems, and that removing such a species disrupts not only plant regeneration but also the food web. 'Spiders and scorpions that are being trafficked out of their native ecosystems have important predatory roles. They help manage pest populations which, if left unmanaged, pose serious problems to agriculture and ecosystems.' Munyai said there can be consequences long after these creatures are sold. 'Some of these, unfortunately, become serious pests (alien invasive species). This happens when the owners or those who initially bought them no longer want them, or when they escape into the wild.' Munyai says enforcement remains patchy. 'On paper, there are good wildlife protection laws here in South Africa and globally. But on the ground, quite a lot is happening unchecked. Most conservation attention still goes to 'charismatic' wildlife. Very few cases are reported for things like ants. That's why the Kenyan case caught so much attention — people were shocked,' Munyai said. Despite comprising 95-97% of all known animal species, invertebrates remain vastly understudied and underfunded in conservation. 'These little things run the world. They are everywhere, from our intestines to our houses, and our fields, playing roles in pollination, pest control and nutrient cycling. Yet very little to nothing is known about the distribution patterns of our invertebrate biodiversity,' said Munyai. According to Munyai, funding for invertebrate research pales in comparison to that for vertebrates. Conservation planning often prioritises larger animals, leaving invertebrates as an afterthought. 'We need more studies on the distribution and ecology of invertebrates. We need to increase public awareness and interest in these animals, which I hope will increase the general concern for their conservation,' said Munyai. The recent spike in attention to the trafficking of invertebrates may be the start of a turning point. But Munyai is cautious. 'This is happening under our noses. If you look at some of our pet shops, you will know. We really need to look into what is leaving through our ports — by sea, land, or air,' he warned. 'By the time we realise this, it may be too late.' TimesLIVE
