When a catastrophic ice shelf collapse in Antarctica opened up prime ocean real estate, enterprising delicate creatures called glass sponges showed up with unprecedented speed to stake their claim. The finding suggests that even in frigid places, sea life may adapt rapidly to climate change.
Cloaked in darkness and cut off from the photosynthetic power of the sun, the waters beneath Antarctic ice shelves host sparse signs of life. But when a giant shelf collapses — as Larsen A and B did in 1995 and 2002 — solar-powered plankton production ramps up, and scientists think it could jump-start a complex food web of diverse marine life.