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Protist-dominated hard substrate faunas thrive at the deepest ocean depths.

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Title: Protist-dominated hard substrate faunas thrive at the deepest ocean depths.
Authors: Song, Xikun (AUTHOR), Gooday, Andrew J. (AUTHOR), Gordon, Dennis P. (AUTHOR), Leduc, Daniel (AUTHOR), Sun, Yike (AUTHOR), Wang, Zizhu (AUTHOR), He, Qian (AUTHOR), Gao, Zhaoming (AUTHOR), Ruthensteiner, Bernhard (AUTHOR), Waeschenbach, Andrea (AUTHOR), Schwaha, Thomas (AUTHOR), Lin, Xiaolan (AUTHOR), Zhang, Hanyu (AUTHOR), Rowden, Ashley (AUTHOR), Xu, Hengchao (AUTHOR), Liu, Shuangquan (AUTHOR), Chen, Shun (AUTHOR), Meng, Liang (AUTHOR), Li, Dee (AUTHOR), Alfiansah, Yustian Rovi (AUTHOR)
Source: Science. 5/14/2026, Vol. 392 Issue 6799, p749-754. 6p.
Subjects: Foraminifera, Hadal zone, Marine biology, Deep-sea animals, Protista, Biodiversity, Submarine trenches, Carbon cycle
Abstract: Deep-sea hard substrates host faunal novelties and distinct evolutionary lineages. However, sessile organisms on rocks are difficult to sample and largely unknown at extreme hadal depths. Here, we report a deep hard-substrate fauna (9000 to 10,898 meters), comprising 32 species of six protist and metazoan phyla, most millimeter-sized and new to science, from the Kermadec and Mariana trenches, using the manned submersible Fendouzhe. We show that the filamentous organisms dominating these assemblages are heterotrophic foraminiferans, challenging the earlier chemolithoautotrophic hypothesis. Large-scale seafloor imaging and sampling suggest that similar protistan-dominated sessile communities thrive in seven hadal regions around Oceania. These faunas open new perspectives on biodiversity at the deepest ocean depths and unveil widespread, but previously unrecognized, carbon hotspots in global hadal trenches. Editor's summary: Characterizing life at the deepest depths of the ocean is extremely challenging, involving sampling at depths between 9000 and 11,000 meters. Our knowledge of these communities is thus relatively limited. Song et al. report a wide array of species sampled by a manned submersible in the Kermedec and Mariana trenches. They describe a new fauna characterized by mostly filamentous and sedentary protists and forams. Particularly surprising was the presence of heterotrophic, rather than chemolithoautotrophic, organisms feeding on terrestrial pine pollen. The authors argue that similar communities occur across the deepest ecosystems, with implications for understanding carbon hotspots at these depths. —Sacha Vignieri [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Science is the property of American Association for the Advancement of Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Protist-dominated hard substrate faunas thrive at the deepest ocean depths.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Song%2C+Xikun%22">Song, Xikun</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gooday%2C+Andrew+J%2E%22">Gooday, Andrew J.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gordon%2C+Dennis+P%2E%22">Gordon, Dennis P.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Leduc%2C+Daniel%22">Leduc, Daniel</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sun%2C+Yike%22">Sun, Yike</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wang%2C+Zizhu%22">Wang, Zizhu</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22He%2C+Qian%22">He, Qian</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gao%2C+Zhaoming%22">Gao, Zhaoming</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ruthensteiner%2C+Bernhard%22">Ruthensteiner, Bernhard</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Waeschenbach%2C+Andrea%22">Waeschenbach, Andrea</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Schwaha%2C+Thomas%22">Schwaha, Thomas</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lin%2C+Xiaolan%22">Lin, Xiaolan</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zhang%2C+Hanyu%22">Zhang, Hanyu</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Rowden%2C+Ashley%22">Rowden, Ashley</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Xu%2C+Hengchao%22">Xu, Hengchao</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Liu%2C+Shuangquan%22">Liu, Shuangquan</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chen%2C+Shun%22">Chen, Shun</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Meng%2C+Liang%22">Meng, Liang</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Li%2C+Dee%22">Li, Dee</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Alfiansah%2C+Yustian+Rovi%22">Alfiansah, Yustian Rovi</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Science%22">Science</searchLink>. 5/14/2026, Vol. 392 Issue 6799, p749-754. 6p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foraminifera%22">Foraminifera</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hadal+zone%22">Hadal zone</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Marine+biology%22">Marine biology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Deep-sea+animals%22">Deep-sea animals</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Protista%22">Protista</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Biodiversity%22">Biodiversity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Submarine+trenches%22">Submarine trenches</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Carbon+cycle%22">Carbon cycle</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Deep-sea hard substrates host faunal novelties and distinct evolutionary lineages. However, sessile organisms on rocks are difficult to sample and largely unknown at extreme hadal depths. Here, we report a deep hard-substrate fauna (9000 to 10,898 meters), comprising 32 species of six protist and metazoan phyla, most millimeter-sized and new to science, from the Kermadec and Mariana trenches, using the manned submersible Fendouzhe. We show that the filamentous organisms dominating these assemblages are heterotrophic foraminiferans, challenging the earlier chemolithoautotrophic hypothesis. Large-scale seafloor imaging and sampling suggest that similar protistan-dominated sessile communities thrive in seven hadal regions around Oceania. These faunas open new perspectives on biodiversity at the deepest ocean depths and unveil widespread, but previously unrecognized, carbon hotspots in global hadal trenches. Editor's summary: Characterizing life at the deepest depths of the ocean is extremely challenging, involving sampling at depths between 9000 and 11,000 meters. Our knowledge of these communities is thus relatively limited. Song et al. report a wide array of species sampled by a manned submersible in the Kermedec and Mariana trenches. They describe a new fauna characterized by mostly filamentous and sedentary protists and forams. Particularly surprising was the presence of heterotrophic, rather than chemolithoautotrophic, organisms feeding on terrestrial pine pollen. The authors argue that similar communities occur across the deepest ecosystems, with implications for understanding carbon hotspots at these depths. —Sacha Vignieri [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Label:
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Science is the property of American Association for the Advancement of Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1126/science.aea7086
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        Text: English
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        StartPage: 749
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      – SubjectFull: Foraminifera
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      – SubjectFull: Hadal zone
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