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Finding love can be pretty tough sometimes — even for a human on
the land. But imagine if you lived in the darkest depths of the deep sea.
Down there, just finding another member of your species can be next to impossible.
Which is why some creatures have evolved some... interesting strategies to pin down a mate.
For instance, allow me to tell you a deep-sea shrimp love story. It begins with a sponge,
and two shrimp — and it ends in forever.
The deep-sea sponge in this story is called a Venus flower basket. Like other sponges,
it’s a sedentary animal that uses its external skeleton to filter food from the water around it.
But this particular sponge almost seems like it’s made of lace.
Except, what looks like a delicate mesh is actually spiky pieces of glass-like silica
called spicules. The sponge weaves these together to make its external skeleton.
And as dainty as it looks, this structural design is actually super strong. In fact, it’s what makes
it possible for these sponges to withstand the extreme water pressure deep in the ocean.
But that’s not its only role. This intricate glass skeleton also serves
as a home and a breeding ground for a pair of deep-sea shrimp in the family Spongicolidae.
Once two of these shrimp pair up,
they find a sponge and crawl through the glass mesh. Then, they settle in.
Researchers think they likely hang out here because passing food particles stick to the
spicules, so the shrimp can get a steady supply of food. It’s a pretty great deal for a shrimp.
But this symbiotic relationship works out well for the sponge, too:
The hungry shrimp keep its spicules squeaky-clean, and the sponge feeds on the shrimps’ waste.
The only catch is… as the shrimp grow bigger, they can’t get out.
They’re trapped behind the sponge’s mesh.
Which sounds a little tragic—but is actually a good thing for the shrimp.
As they evolved over thousands of years, they lost features that would let them live independently.
For example, their gills have shrunk because their sedentary lifestyle
doesn’t require as much oxygen as a free-swimming one.
Their shells have also become less spiny,
since the sponge takes care of protecting them from predators.
So it’s now impossible for them to live anywhere but inside a sponge… together.
Eventually, the shrimp pair has babies, and these are small enough to squeeze out
through the mesh and set off in search of a Venus flower basket sponge to call their own.
Then, finally, the original pair will die,
which will open that sponge up for new tenants to settle in and continue their symbiosis.
As for how the shrimp find their homes?
Well, scientists think the sponges’ spicules actually transmit
light from nearby bioluminescent creatures, so as young shrimp couples look for a new home,
they’re attracted to these glowing beacons in the dark.
This unlikely relationship has made it possible
for these shrimp to continue to survive in the deep sea.
And for some humans, it also seems to have become a symbol of committed love.
In Japan, the skeletons of these sponges are sometimes presented as wedding gifts.
Because there’s nothing like a deep-sea glass sponge
shrimp prison to say “until death do us part.”
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