244 个多金属结核里住着 4139 只小动物：科学报告研究称结核内部是深海独特栖息地
一项发表于科学报告期刊的新研究显示，太平洋深海的多金属结核不只是金属原料来源，其内部裂缝与孔隙还是微小生物的独特栖息地。研究由不来梅大学 MARUM 海洋环境科学中心的坦娅·斯特拉特曼、荷兰皇家海洋研究所的科拉尔·迪亚斯-雷西奥·洛伦佐与萨宾·戈尔纳共同领衔。
多金属结核是拳头大小的铁锰氧化物团块，生长极其缓慢，每一百万年往往只长几毫米。它们分布在 4000 米至 6000 米深的海底，在原本柔软泥泞的海床上形成罕见的硬质表面。
研究团队用箱式取样器与潜水机器人在中太平洋克拉里顿-克利珀顿区采集样本，并在实验室中剖开结核取出内部生物。对 244 个结核的分析共发现 4139 只动物，平均每个结核内生活着 17 只，单个结核内最多发现 245 只。
研究者说，结核内部的动物数量低于周围沉积物：线虫约占沉积物总量的 10%，小型桡足类甲壳动物约占 25%。但物种组成明显不同，遗传分析显示，结核内部群落在最远 1000 公里范围内彼此相似，却与沉积物中的动物显著不同。
单细胞物种 Thurammina sp. 1 在结核内尤为常见。研究者表示，这类专门居民高度适应结核内部受遮蔽的狭小空间，结核一旦被采走，没有替代栖息地。
戈尔纳在机构发布中说，研究结果指出，商业开采可能造成与结核相关的未被描述的独特生物多样性不可逆流失，这一点需要在深海采矿的环境管理中予以考虑。研究团队同时表示，后续研究需确定这些本地群落消失是否会导致某些物种在全球灭绝。论文数字对象标识符为 10.1038/s41598-026-76737-w。
4,139 Animals Found Inside 244 Polymetallic Nodules: Scientific Reports Study Calls Nodule Interiors a Distinct Deep-Sea Habitat
A new study published in Scientific Reports shows that polymetallic nodules in the deep Pacific are more than a source of metals. Their crevices and pores form a specialized habitat for tiny organisms, according to an international team led by Tanja Stratmann of MARUM at the University of Bremen, Coral Diaz-Recio Lorenzo and Sabine Gollner of NIOZ, the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research.
Polymetallic nodules are fist-sized lumps of iron and manganese oxides that grow extremely slowly, often just a few millimeters per million years. At depths of 4,000 to 6,000 meters, they form rare hard surfaces on the otherwise soft, muddy seafloor.
Using box corers and diving robots in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the central Pacific, the team dissected nodules in the laboratory to extract organisms from the crevices. Analysis of 244 nodules revealed a total of 4,139 individual animals, an average of 17 per nodule, with as many as 245 in a single nodule.
The number of animals inside nodules is lower than in surrounding sediment, about 10 percent of the sediment total for nematodes and about 25 percent for small copepod crustaceans, the researchers said. But species composition differs, and genetic analyses showed communities inside nodules were very similar across distances of up to 1,000 kilometers while differing significantly from sediment animals.
The single-celled species Thurammina sp. 1 is particularly common in the nodules and appears adapted to their sheltered spaces, with no replacement habitat if nodules are removed, the study said.
Gollner said the findings point to a possible irreversible loss of undescribed and unique biodiversity associated with nodules from commercial mining, which needs to be considered in environmental management. The paper carries digital object identifier 10.1038/s41598-026-76737-w.
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图片来源：图：多金属（锰）结核标本的特写。Hannes Grobe 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons / Photo: Manganese-nodule-09 hg. By Hannes Grobe, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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