Bravo. A delightful read, and full of interesting nuggets. Nature, through the process of trial and error and time, has produced such biologically efficient creatures. Yet, she never forgets to put in place checks and balances. The fascinating process of autolysis ensures we dont end up with any real 45m long ice worms at the Cordova festival :)
I'd be curious to hear if the genetic diversity within ice worm populations is correlated with the rate at which the glaciers they inhabit are melting. Do they migrate between populations to procreate? Is genetic homogeneity even a concern? Of course, this assumes someone found ice worms fascinating enough to complete DNA sequencing on them.
Oh, no... Don't put a new article idea in my head! lol
As questions such as yours indicate, much is still unknown about ice worms. Major reasons why include the delicate physiology of ice worms and the somewhat remote environments they live in. It would require a dedicated effort for just a semi-decent study of them.
Ice worms are fascinating and so is your article. The first time I saw these little extremophiles was on the Easton Glacier on Mount Baker.
Right around dusk, the snow under our feet transitioned to pink. We thought "what in the world is going on". Upon closer examinationa found that each square foot of snow had many hundreds of red worms in it. There must have been billions of them across the surface of the glacier.
I remember we were horrified that to reach our camp, each step meant squashing untold numbers of worms.
I really enjoy reading and hearing firsthand experiences, such as yours. Although I may have seen glacier ice worms years ago (but not paid much attention to them), the first area I remember seeing them in droves was on the Sahale Glacier in the North Cascades.
some more about these strange things! I had no idea what they were when I first came across them on Rainier, and later only learned that they were called 'ice worm'. I had no idea that they were so limited in geography (hence me never seeing them in UT, CO, WY, or CA) or so unique from most other worms we see. The extremophile characteristics were a fun read as well. Melting worm, eh?
Your essay was interesting and informative. Thanks. In the poem titled "The Ballad of Blasphemous Bill" the Bard of the Yukon writes: "You know what it's like in the Yukon wild, when it's sixty-nine below; and the ice worms wriggle their purple heads through the crust of the pale blue snow..." Indeed, Service knew of them and seems to have referenced them extensively.
I’ve seen different creatures on various glaciers (including spiders) and was always wondering what they were doing there and how they got there but never done any research till I (most likely) swallowed some black worms desperately drinking water directly from the stream coming down from Bolam Glacier on Mt Shasta. Black Worms in water streams on Mt Shasta Have anyone finally researched Shasta’s ice worms?
Chaberton - Jan 29, 2013 4:25 am - Voted 10/10
This article is really interesting.My best compliments.
a perfect mix of science,narrative and history.
Cheers.
Roberto.
Redwic - Jan 29, 2013 9:31 am - Hasn't voted
Re: This article is really interesting.Thank you, Roberto. I am glad you enjoyed the article.
seabadge - Jan 29, 2013 9:26 am - Voted 10/10
Pickled ice-worms?Bravo. A delightful read, and full of interesting nuggets. Nature, through the process of trial and error and time, has produced such biologically efficient creatures. Yet, she never forgets to put in place checks and balances. The fascinating process of autolysis ensures we dont end up with any real 45m long ice worms at the Cordova festival :)
I'd be curious to hear if the genetic diversity within ice worm populations is correlated with the rate at which the glaciers they inhabit are melting. Do they migrate between populations to procreate? Is genetic homogeneity even a concern? Of course, this assumes someone found ice worms fascinating enough to complete DNA sequencing on them.
So what's next for you... Snow Fleas?
Redwic - Jan 29, 2013 9:30 am - Hasn't voted
Re: Pickled ice-worms?Oh, no... Don't put a new article idea in my head! lol
As questions such as yours indicate, much is still unknown about ice worms. Major reasons why include the delicate physiology of ice worms and the somewhat remote environments they live in. It would require a dedicated effort for just a semi-decent study of them.
Thank you for the kind words. Much appreciated.
gimpilator - Jan 29, 2013 10:46 am - Voted 10/10
ExtremophilesIce worms are fascinating and so is your article. The first time I saw these little extremophiles was on the Easton Glacier on Mount Baker.
Right around dusk, the snow under our feet transitioned to pink. We thought "what in the world is going on". Upon closer examinationa found that each square foot of snow had many hundreds of red worms in it. There must have been billions of them across the surface of the glacier.
I remember we were horrified that to reach our camp, each step meant squashing untold numbers of worms.
Redwic - Jan 29, 2013 11:23 am - Hasn't voted
Re: ExtremophilesThat is very interesting. Thank you for sharing.
I really enjoy reading and hearing firsthand experiences, such as yours. Although I may have seen glacier ice worms years ago (but not paid much attention to them), the first area I remember seeing them in droves was on the Sahale Glacier in the North Cascades.
PellucidWombat - Jan 29, 2013 12:20 pm - Voted 10/10
Thanks for illuminatingsome more about these strange things! I had no idea what they were when I first came across them on Rainier, and later only learned that they were called 'ice worm'. I had no idea that they were so limited in geography (hence me never seeing them in UT, CO, WY, or CA) or so unique from most other worms we see. The extremophile characteristics were a fun read as well. Melting worm, eh?
ywardhorner - Jan 29, 2013 3:01 pm - Voted 10/10
FascinatingSaw these for the first time on Mt Baker and weren't happy that they invariably ended up in the pot we used for melting snow.
Redwic - Jan 29, 2013 3:09 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: FascinatingEwww... Gross. But perhaps the extra "protein" was good for you?
;-)
mrchad9 - Jan 29, 2013 9:51 pm - Voted 10/10
CA too!Folks have reported seeing these guys on Mount Shasta too, on Hotlum and Bolam glaciers if I remember correctly. Haven't seen them myself yet though.
Spectacular article!
Old School WB - Jan 30, 2013 12:58 am - Voted 9/10
10 out of 10 on SPv2Great article, very interesting. Have seen tons of watermelon snow, but never any glacier worms in the Canadian Rockies.
Thanks for the info bro!
bedellympian - Jan 30, 2013 8:30 pm - Voted 9/10
COOL!This is super interesting. I always just assumed that glaciers were lifeless, sterile environments. Thanks for putting this together.
Moogie737 - Feb 4, 2013 11:14 pm - Voted 10/10
Nice essay - another Robert Service exampleYour essay was interesting and informative. Thanks. In the poem titled "The Ballad of Blasphemous Bill" the Bard of the Yukon writes: "You know what it's like in the Yukon wild, when it's sixty-nine below; and the ice worms wriggle their purple heads through the crust of the pale blue snow..." Indeed, Service knew of them and seems to have referenced them extensively.
clmbr - Feb 6, 2013 5:44 pm - Voted 10/10
Great article - thanks for publishingI’ve seen different creatures on various glaciers (including spiders) and was always wondering what they were doing there and how they got there but never done any research till I (most likely) swallowed some black worms desperately drinking water directly from the stream coming down from Bolam Glacier on Mt Shasta. Black Worms in water streams on Mt Shasta Have anyone finally researched Shasta’s ice worms?