Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Seal lice, unique among insects, show remarkable adaptability to the extreme conditions of the deep sea. Evolving with their seal and sea lion hosts, they have managed to tolerate hypoxia, high salinity, low temperature, and elevated hydrostatic pressure. Given the diving capabilities of their mammalian hosts, which can reach depths of hundreds to thousands of meters, our study examines the morphological variation among closely related seal lice species infesting hosts with different maximum diving depths. In particular, our research reveals a significant morphological difference between lice associated with regular and deep-diving hosts, where lice from deep-diving hosts tend to be rounder. This could be an adaptation to withstand the high hydrostatic pressures found in the deep ocean. The rounded shape optimizes the louse's ability to withstand external pressure by redistributing it over a larger ventral/dorsal plane. This in turn minimizes the internal energy required to support body deformations, thereby increasing the louse's resilience in the deep sea environment.
Source: Scientific Reports
Institutions: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Université de Tours, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte UMR 7261, Argentine Antarctic Institute, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, National University of Patagonia San Juan Bosco, Centro Científico Tecnológico Patagónico
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life below water
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,590
OpenAlex ID: W4402376013