14 DAY TRIAL // Marine biologists in the United States were able to establish the age of deep-sea black corals in the Gulf of Mexico with tremendous accuracy. During a new study, they calculated the exact age of these marine creatures for the first time, and determined some colonies to be more than 2,000 years old.
The age of the reefs was finally validated and confirmed, announce experts with the US Geological Survey (USGS) in a press release. They add that the majority of the newly-found corals are just a few feet tall, partially because of the depth they live at.
Most of the colonies are found at depths of 300 meters (984 feet) or more, scientists explain. This means that the organisms are sensitive to changes happening both on the ocean surface and on its floor.
The dating study was conducted because knowing the age of deep-sea corals with absolute certainty is the only way they can be included in the natural archives of environmental change. Experts study these archives to determine how Earth will react to global warming in the future.
“The fact that the animals live continuously for thousands of years amazes me,” USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center expert Dr Nancy Prouty explains.
“Despite living at 300 meters and deeper, these animals are sensitive to what is going on in the surface ocean because they are feeding on organic matter that rapidly sinks to the sea floor,” she explains.
“Since longevity is a key factor for population maintenance, recovery from a disturbance to these ecosystems, natural or man-made, may take decades to centuries,” the expert adds.
Prouty was a part of the team that analyzed coral samples collected by the USGS other experts during several ongoing deep-sea coral ecosystem studies. The researches were conducted from 2003 to 2009.
Other than the depths they live at, deep-sea corals are not that distinguishable from their shallow-water counterparts. They are biodiversity hot spots as well, and home to a huge number of other creature.
They form the centerpiece for advanced feedings habitats and ecosystems, that function in a very delicate balance. Experts were amazed to learn that some of the reefs were so old.
“We used a manned submersible, the Johnson-Sea-Link, to go to the sea floor and specifically collect certain samples using the sub's manipulator arms,” Prouty explains.
“Deep-sea black corals are a perfect example of ecosystems linked between the surface and the deep ocean. They can potentially record this link in their skeleton for hundreds to thousands of years,” she concludes.