A significant discovery by University of North Texas (UNT) faculty member Dr. Jaime Jiménez is contributing valuable insights into the biodiversity of the southernmost regions of South America. Dr. Jiménez, a professor of wildlife ecology in UNT’s Department of Biological Sciences, has identified both known and previously unrecorded species of tardigrades, or ‘water bears,’ during field research on Navarino Island, situated in the remote rainforests of southern Chile.
Collaborating with a team of graduate students and colleagues from the University of Plymouth and the British Antarctic Survey, Dr. Jiménez has embarked on a comprehensive cataloging and study initiative. This endeavor is aimed at filling existing gaps in scientific knowledge regarding tardigrades, microscopic animals renowned for their extraordinary resilience.
In an unexpected twist of fate, the discovery occurred while Jiménez, under a National Science Foundation grant focusing on international research experience for students, was conducting studies involving mosses and plants in the region. During analysis of avian droppings, students detected microscopic, worm-like organisms, which Dr. Peter Convey and Dr. Sandra McInnes from the British Antarctic Survey later identified as tardigrades. This observation suggested their dispersal might occur via birds.
‘Tardigrades are fascinating due to their diversity and ecological importance,’ commented Jiménez, project principal investigator. ‘They occupy crucial niches within the food web, acting as both predators and prey, and their study opens up novel research avenues.’
Tardigrades, existing for some 400 to 500 million years, are famed for surviving in extreme climates through cryptobiosis—a state of suspended biological activity allowing them to endure freezing, radiation, and dehydration conditions until more hospitable environments return.
With support from entities like the U.S. Department of Defense, which examines their unique survival tactics for potential applications in medicine and space research, tardigrades are essential subjects in ecological indicators research. Dr. Jiménez leverages them to probe broader questions of ecology and biodiversity, particularly their interactions, diversity, and abundance factors in diverse ecosystems.
Field methods involve gathering moss and lichen—tardigrade habitats—from Chile’s rainforests, then inducing cryptobiosis to safeguard the organisms for transportation to the United States. There, rehydration in the lab awakens the tardigrades, which are then meticulously studied under advanced microscopes.
Graduate students, such as Arya Mohanan and Ishani Mahawaththa, have played active roles in analyzing how tardigrade diversity shifts across various ecological niches in southern Chile. The research has been widely communicated through scientific papers, journal articles, and presentations at international symposiums.
As investigations continue, Dr. Jiménez and his team aim to advance understanding of these remarkable creatures’ survival strategies, contributing to a broader knowledge base on global biodiversity and ecological interconnections.