Introduction to Meiofauna Part 5

This week, I am really excited to share one of the most well-known and beloved meiofauna: the tardigrade. Tardigrades, or water bears, are extremely resilient organisms that can survive in outlandish conditions, including extreme temperatures, pressures, and tardigrades have been found in space. Tardigrades have unique adaptations to survive on earth, the most fascinating of which is the tun state. The tun state is a mode of stasis that tardigrades enter by expelling all the water from their bodies and they release a protein that turns their cells glass-like to protect their cellular structures, which has inspired a new form of glass that may be better at absorbing and directing sunlight, according to scientists from UChicago.

Like most meiofauana, one of the key roles that tardigrades play is in energy transfer in benthic systems; tardigrades eat microscopic organisms and are eaten by larger predators. However, surprisingly little is known about tardigrades, even though they are an organism capable of surviving in extreme environments. Studying tardigrades may lead to new inventions that allow for research in more extreme areas if tardigrade adaptations can be adapted to manufacturable products.

Below are two images of the water bears. On the left is a recent photo of a tardigrade--stained with bengal rose--from our lab's sampling work in the Gulf of Mexico. On the right is a more clear and magnified image of a tardigrade so you can appreciate its interesting morphology.