Life in ocean 'blue holes' studied

GALVESTON, Texas, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Life found in underwater caves in the Bahamas could give clues to what types of marine life might be found on distant planets and moons, researchers say.

Discoveries made in so-called blue holes by Texas A&M University at Galveston researchers include specialized forms of bacteria life at different depths, suggesting that microbial life in such caves is continually adapting to changes in available light, water chemistry and food sources.

"These bacterial forms of life may be similar to microbes that existed on early Earth and thus provide a glimpse of how life evolved on this planet," marine biologist Tom Iliffe said in a Texas A&M release Thursday.

"These caves are natural laboratories where we can study life existing under conditions analogous to what was present many millions of years ago."

There are tens of thousands of underwater caves scattered around the world, but less than 5 percent have ever been explored and scientifically investigated, Iliffe said.

"We know more about the far side of the moon than we do about these caves right here on Earth," he said. "There is no telling what remains to be discovered in the many thousands of caves that no one has ever entered.

"If life exists elsewhere in our solar system, it most likely would be found in water-filled subterranean environments, perhaps equivalent to those we are studying in the Bahamas."