🐛 An unexpected species discovered in the Great Salt Lake

The Great Salt Lake, unsurprisingly renowned for its extremely salty water, is generally considered a desert. In this environment extreme for life, a team of biologists made an astonishing observation: nematodes, tiny roundworms, are thriving in these hostile conditions. This find invites a reconsideration of the known limits of life in hypersaline environments.

This species, new to science, has been named Diplolaimelloides woaabi. Researchers from the University of Utah worked with the Shoshone community to choose this name, which comes from a Native word meaning 'worm'. The study, published in the Journal of Nematology, describes the characteristics of this nematode unique to the lake.


Until 2022, no nematode had been confirmed in this lake. To collect specimens, expeditions by kayak and bicycle were organized to the microbialites, mineral mounds. Julie Jung, then a postdoctoral researcher, led these missions. The entire process, from collection to the confirmation that it was indeed a new species, took three years.

Nematodes are very common microscopic animals on Earth, found from soils to oceans. In the Great Salt Lake, they join brine shrimp and brine flies as rare animal inhabitants. Furthermore, genetic analyses hint at the possible existence of a second species, which would require further investigation to be confirmed.

How did these worms get there? Two scenarios are being studied. The first proposes an ancient origin, linked to a prehistoric arm of the sea, with nematodes trapped during the basin's formation. The second, more surprising, considers transport by migratory birds from other salt lakes. These leads help conceptualize the dispersal of life in isolated environments.


Within the lake, these creatures inhabit the algal mats of the microbialites, where they feed on bacteria. A notable detail lies in the sex ratio: females are far more numerous than males in the lake, an imbalance that disappears in the laboratory. This particularity highlights the marked influence of their habitat on their biology. Their presence could in the future serve as a bio-indicator for monitoring the lake's state in the face of anthropogenic pressures.

The interactions between these nematodes and the microbialites, which are major energy producers in the lake, could influence the entire ecosystem. Subsequent studies will help better define their place in the food chain.