When researchers lowered whale bones into the deep ocean, they expected zombie worms to quickly move in. Instead, after 10 years, none appeared — an unsettling result tied to low-oxygen waters in the region. These worms play a key role in breaking down whale remains and supporting deep-sea life. Their absence hints that climate-driven oxygen loss could unravel entire whale-fall ecosystems.

That species is the zombie worm, formally known as “the bone devourer” Osedax. Its disappearance may signal deeper trouble ahead, including species loss and weakening ecosystems linked to long-term climate change.