New Roundworm Species Discovered in Great Salt Lake
Utah biologists have characterized D. woaabi, the first of two nematode species recently discovered in the lake’s microbialites.
Scientists studying the great Salt Lake have identified tiny roundworms that belong to at least one species never before described, with evidence suggesting there might potentially be two new species. Researchers from the University of Utah detailed the discovery in a newly published study that documents the organism’s features and assigns it a name recognizing the Indigenous people whose ancestral homelands include the lake.
The species, known as Diplolaimelloides woaabi, appears to exist only in the Great Salt Lake and may serve an critically important ecological role that scientists have not yet fully defined. The research team, led by assistant professor of biology Michael Werner, worked with the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation when naming the species. Tribal elders suggested Wo’aabi, an Indigenous word meaning “worm.”
Nematodes are among the most widespread animals on the planet, thriving in environments ranging from polar ice and deep sea hydrothermal vents to ordinary backyard soil.Because most measure less than a millimeter in length, they often go unnoticed. Scientists have identified more than 250,000 nematode species, making them the most abundant animal phylum across land and water ecosystems. They account for roughly 80% of animal life in soils and about 90% of animals living on the ocean floor.
## Ancient Nematodes in Great Salt Lake: A Tale of Two Hypotheses
“There are two hypotheses, two models that are both kind of crazy for different reasons,” says a researcher investigating the origins of nematodes found in the Great Salt Lake.
One hypothesis, proposed by co-author Byron Adams, a biology professor and nematologist at Brigham Young University, suggests the nematodes have been present in the region sence the Cretaceous Period, millions of years ago. During this time, Utah was situated on the shore of a marine waterway that divided North America.
“So we were on the beach here,” Adams explains. “This area was part of that seaway, and streams and rivers draining into that beach would be great habitat for these kinds of organisms. With the Colorado Plateau lifting up, you formed a great basin, and these animals were trapped here.” He acknowledges further research is needed to confirm this, stating, “The null hypothesis is that they’re here because they’ve always kind of been here.”
though, researcher Werner points out that northern Utah hasn’t always been a saline lake. Between 20,000 and 30,000 years ago, the region was covered by the freshwater Lake Bonneville.
“If the nematode has been endemic since 100 million years ago, it has survived through these dramatic shifts in salinity at least once, probably a few times,” he notes. The choice, wich Werner admits is “crazier,” is that the nematodes arrived in the feathers of migratory birds traveling from saline lakes in South America.”So who knows,” he concludes. “Maybe the birds are transporting small…