Given their lifestyle, they are grouped as parasites, organisms that require a living host for survival.
The current extreme marine heat wave occasions in Florida and other areas of the world that host coral reefs is a big concern for types like Gnathia jimmybuffetti, who can not just swim to cooler water. Work by Sikkels group on other gnathiid species has actually revealed that at above-average seawater temperature levels, mortality rates increase, and the abundance of gnathiids on reefs reduces significantly. To the level these effects are most likely to be comparable for the myriad of other little invertebrates that live in or near the benthos (bottom), this can have major effects on coral reef food webs.
Referral: “Morphological Description and Molecular Characterization of Gnathia Jimmybuffetti Sp.
By University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science
July 31, 2023
New types of marine cryptofauna– Gnathia jimmybuffetti discovered in the Florida Keys and called after musician Jimmy Buffet. Credit: Anja Erasmus, Ph.D., North-West University Water Research Group, South Africa
The little crustaceans represent the first discovery of a new gnathiid isopod in the Florida ecoregion in a century, and theyve been named in honor of the singer-songwriter, Jimmy Buffett.
A worldwide team of researchers from the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science at the University of Miami, and the Water Research Group within the Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management at North-West University in South Africa, has found a formerly unidentified types of marine cryptofauna in the Florida Keys. Cryptofauna describes the small, hidden organisms that form the bulk of oceanic biodiversity.
The roughly three-millimeter-long isopod is one of just 15 species from the genus Gnathia currently understood in the region.
The freshly discovered types, Gnathia jimmybuffetti, which is a member of a group of crustaceans called gnathiid isopods, were gathered utilizing light traps set in shallow water and defined utilizing photomicrographs and genetic sequencing.
” Upon assessment, it was determined to be a species that was previously unidentified to science,” stated senior investigator Paul Sikkel, a research professor in the Department of Marine Biology and Ecology at the Rosenstiel School. “Its the very first brand-new Florida gnathiid to be found in 100 years.”
Different juveniles and adult specimens of Gnathia jimmybuffetti. Credit: Anja Erasmus, Ph.D., North-West University Water Research Group, South Africa
These tiny animals, which are found throughout the worlds oceans lead a very curious life. The juveniles are most active at night and feed on the blood of fish like a mosquito or tick. The grownups do not feed and live concealed in rubble on the ocean flooring. Provided their lifestyle, they are grouped as parasites, organisms that require a living host for survival.
The current serious marine heat wave occasions in Florida and other areas of the world that host coral reefs is a huge issue for species like Gnathia jimmybuffetti, who can not simply swim to cooler water. Work by Sikkels team on other gnathiid types has actually revealed that at above-average seawater temperature levels, mortality rates increase, and the abundance of gnathiids on reefs reduces substantially. To the extent these effects are likely to be similar for the myriad of other little invertebrates that live in or near the benthos (bottom), this can have major effects on coral reef food webs.
Because the types was discovered in the Florida Keys and Sikkel and his group are long-time fans of Jimmy Buffetts music– which is associated with the Florida Keys– they called the new species: Gnathia jimmybuffetti after the music legend.
” By naming a species after an artist, we want to promote the combination of the sciences and arts,” stated Sikkel, whose research study team called a similar types from the Caribbean after Bob Marley (Gnathia marleyi).
” All species in an environment play an important function and all species have something to teach us,” said Sikkel. “As we find new types, we are reminded of the number of undiscovered species there still are.”
The researchers highlight that while these organisms have a parasitic lifestyle, they are in no other way comparing these artists, whom they appreciate and regard, to parasites.
Reference: “Morphological Description and Molecular Characterization of Gnathia Jimmybuffetti Sp. Nov. (Crustacea, Isopoda, Gnathiidae): the First New Gnathiid in 100 Years from the Floridian Ecoregion.” by Anja Erasmus, Kerry Hadfield, Paul Sikkel and Nico Smit, 3 July 2023, Bulletin of Marine Science.DOI: 10.5343/ bms.2023.0040.
The study was moneyed by a grant from the National Science Foundation.