A new study led by an international team, including researchers from The University of Western Australia, has discovered that a common marine organism could provide new ways to monitor ocean health and understand climate change.
The research, published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), focuses on a widespread species of foraminifera – microscopic marine organisms that have existed for millions of years – called Textularia agglutinans.
Dr Aleksey Sadekov and Dr Hua Li from UWA's Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation & Analysis, part of the international team that made the discovery, said the sea creatures had unique characteristics that made them an excellent recorder of environmental conditions.
"This particular species has a remarkable hidden feature – an inner shell made of calcium carbonate beneath its outer layer of gathered particles," Dr Sadekov said.
"This dual-layer structure allows, for the first time, use of this type of foraminifera to study both past and present marine environments."
The research revealed that T. agglutinans could effectively record water temperatures and track heavy metals from human activities, making it valuable for monitoring ocean health.
Image: Microscopic Textularia agglutinans show a sensitivity to changes in environmental conditions.
"The organism shows particular sensitivity to changes in environmental conditions, potentially offering scientists a new way to study the impacts of climate change and pollution on marine ecosystems," Dr Sadekov said.
The research also provided unexpected insights into the evolution of marine life.
The team discovered that the species represents an important evolutionary link between different groups of foraminifera, which are single-celled organisms, helping scientists better understand how these crucial marine organisms developed over millions of years.
"What makes this discovery particularly exciting is that this group of foraminifera evolved very early in Earth's history, which means we now potentially have tools to reconstruct water temperatures as far back as 350 million years, well before first dinosaurs walked the earth," Dr Li said.
The research team said the findings open new possibilities for studying marine environmental change and could lead to improved methods for monitoring the health of coastal ecosystems worldwide.
