The small organisms that slip unnoticed through sand play an important role in keeping our oceans healthy and productive, according to a Florida State University researcher.
In the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, Jeroen Ingels, a researcher at the FSU Coastal and Marine Laboratory, explains that small organisms called meiofauna that live in the sediment provide essential services to human life such as food production and nutrient cycling.
“They contribute to sediment stability and waste breakdown,” Ingels said. “Their feeding process contributes to making low quality organic material available to higher trophic levels that then are fed to fish and seabirds. And then, potentially humans.”
That’s why researchers should be paying more attention to them as they try to understand more about the marine environment, our overall food chain and the processes that contribute to healthy marine ecosystems, Ingels said.
Read more at Florida State University
Photo: Courtesy of Jeroen Ingels
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