We may be over-harvesting metals on ocean floor that support deep sea life

Key quote from article, via author's tweet thread [1]:

> The problem is that these nodules are not sterile globules of free resources, like some computer game world. They are in fact the underpinning keystone in a complex food web which we barely glimpse through the handful of studies which have focused on them. What we do know is this: the nodules themselves are coated with living beings, one in particular, the stalked glass sponge, is considered a key structural species. The trophic webs which exist in these deep abyssal zones rely on the nodules as the only physical structural support to anchor onto, the soft sediment being incapable of supporting these species. The cascading effects of removing the nodules flows upwards to the sediment and filter feeders, the scavengers, omnivores and carnivores.

Context is this article on the recently discovered polymetallic nodules on the ocean floor that generate oxygen [2], which in addition to supporting ecosystems on earth may be a way to generate oxygen on other planets.

[1]: https://twitter.com/Paracelsus1092/status/181600944073626051...

[2]: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jul/22/...