Which Animals Would Thrive in Low-to-No-Oxygen Environments?

[Shagrat]

As far as I know, Porifera (sponges) and Cnidaria (jellyfish, corals and hydroids) can thrive in conditions where oxygen contents are low.  Jellyfish, in particular, thrive better in warmer, oxygen-lower water than cooler, oxygen-higher water.  And sponges were around when oxygen contents really were lower than they are today.  But is that everyone?  What other animal phyla, if any, can thrive in water that have low if not no oxygen content at all?

[CharonY]

Truly anaerobic animals, especially multicellular ones, are very rare. One of the few I am aware of are members of the Nanaloricidae and other Loricefera.

[StringJunky]

I looked up Loricifera to familiarize myself  and found this lovely picture:

Edited October 7, 2018 by StringJunky

[Shagrat]

2 hours ago, CharonY said:

Truly anaerobic animals, especially multicellular ones, are very rare. One of the few I am aware of are members of the Nanaloricidae and other Loricefera.

 

Who is Nanaloricidae?

[Moontanman]

4 hours ago, Shagrat said:

As far as I know, Porifera (sponges) and Cnidaria (jellyfish, corals and hydroids) can thrive in conditions where oxygen contents are low.  Jellyfish, in particular, thrive better in warmer, oxygen-lower water than cooler, oxygen-higher water.  And sponges were around when oxygen contents really were lower than they are today.  But is that everyone?  What other animal phyla, if any, can thrive in water that have low if not no oxygen content at all?

 

Just now, Moontanman said:

As far as I know, Porifera (sponges)

No,in fact they require a normal level of oxygen and water movement and are not found in anoxic waters. 

 

6 minutes ago, Moontanman said:

Jellyfish, in particular, thrive better in warmer, oxygen-lower water

3 minutes ago, Moontanman said:

Cnidaria (jellyfish, corals and hydroids)

  Again corals only thrive in areas of high oxygen content and water movement.

 

4 hours ago, Shagrat said:

4 hours ago, Shagrat said:

Jellyfish, in particular, thrive better in warmer, oxygen-lower water than cooler, oxygen-higher water.

 

No, jellyfish live in oxygen rich water, some species do live in warm tropical water but the oxygen content is still high.

 

Some few exceptions my exist but they are few and far between. 

[Shagrat]

From BBC Earth:

 

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Experiments published in 2014 showed that some animals can survive with much less oxygen than previously thought. Sponges, one of the oldest kinds of animal, need just 0.5% of modern oxygen levels.

 

 

From Kitsap Sun:

 

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They seem to survive better than fish in low-oxygen conditions. And when food supplies run low, they may out-survive fish by drifting about and using very little energy.

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In South Puget Sound and Southern Hood Canal, where poor water conditions are marked by low oxygen and increased acidity, the greatest numbers of jellyfish have been found, according to a 2011 study headed by Correigh Greene, Rice’s associate at NOAA.

 

[Moontanman]

19 hours ago, Shagrat said:

From BBC Earth:

 

 

 

From Kitsap Sun:

 

 

I said there were exceptions in fact there are "anoxic" organisms "protists" that live in water devoid of oxygen. You may be correct about sponges living in low oxygen water but citation would be nice. I  would like to see a citation for corals living in anoxic water as well

 

Loricifera

 

 

Edited October 7, 2018 by Moontanman

[Shagrat]

I said jellyfish, not corals.

[Moontanman]

On 10/6/2018 at 7:29 PM, Shagrat said:

As far as I know, Porifera (sponges) and Cnidaria (jellyfish, corals and hydroids) can thrive in conditions where oxygen contents are low.  Jellyfish, in particular, thrive better in warmer, oxygen-lower water than cooler, oxygen-higher water.  And sponges were around when oxygen contents really were lower than they are today.  But is that everyone?  What other animal phyla, if any, can thrive in water that have low if not no oxygen content at all?

 

14 hours ago, Shagrat said:

I said jellyfish, not corals.

You said corals dude, and I think we need to eliminate no oxygen from the list, only a few actual animals can live thus and those are microscopic and live in symbiosis with methanogen bacteria instead of mitochondria to get their energy. Low oxygen can be defined many ways, what level of oxygen qualifies for your OP?   

Oh and BTW 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jellyfish

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Dead zones

Further information: Dead zone (ecology)

Some parts of the ocean are dead zones, so called because they are ahypoxic (low in oxygen). These are often near heavily populated coasts where there is substantial pollution with nutrients including nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, causing eutrophication and algal blooms. When the algae in these blooms decay, the oxygen in the water is depleted, leading to the death of fish and other animals.^[78] Jellyfish can then multiply to enormous numbers in the absence of other animals, whether competitors or predators. The causes of these jellyfish swarms may include side-effects of human activities such as overfishing, seabed debris on which jellyfish larvae can settle and grow, pollution, and local warming.^[79]

Not exactly what you were insinuating is it? On the other hand cold oxygenated water is quite conducive to jellyfish. 

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion's_mane_jellyfish

 

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The lion's mane jellyfish, also known as the giant jellyfish or the hair jelly,^[1] is the largest known species of jellyfish. Its range is confined to cold, boreal waters of the Arctic, northern Atlantic, and northern Pacific Oceans. It is common in the English Channel, Irish Sea, North Sea, and in western Scandinavian waters south to Kattegatand Øresund. It may also drift into the southwestern part of the Baltic Sea (where it cannot breed due to the low salinity). Similar jellyfish – which may be the same species – are known to inhabit seas near Australia and New Zealand. The largest recorded specimen, found washed up on the shore of Massachusetts Bay in 1870, had a bell with a diameter of 2.3 metres (7 ft 6 in) and tentacles 37 m (120 ft) long.^[2] Lion's mane jellyfish have been observed below 42°N latitude for some time in the larger bays of the east coast of the United States.

Edited October 8, 2018 by Moontanman

[PhilGeis]

http://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/105/40/15452.full.pdf

[PhilGeis]

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jennifer_Purcell/publication/234155004_Pelagic_cnidarians_and_ctenophores_in_low_dissolved_oxygen_environments_A_review/links/57b6487f08aede8a665bc093/Pelagic-cnidarians-and-ctenophores-in-low-dissolved-oxygen-environments-A-review.pdf