Ancient Seagrass May Be the Oldest Living Organism On Earth

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120207152545.htm

ScienceDaily (Feb. 7, 2012) — It's big, it's old and it lives under the sea -- and now an international research collaboration with The University of Western Australia's Ocean's Institute has confirmed that an ancient seagrass holds the secrets of the oldest living organism on Earth.

Ancient giant Posidonia oceanica reproduces asexually, generating clones of itself. A single organism -- which has been found to span up to 15 kilometres [about 9 miles] in width and reach more than 6,000 metric tonnes [6614 U.S. tons in mass -- may well be more than 100,000 years old.

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Posidonia oceanica, which as all other seagrasses can reproduce both sexually and asexually

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Seagrasses are the foundation of key coastal ecosystems but have waned globally for the past 20 years. Posidonia oceanica meadows are now declining at an estimated rate of five per cent annually.

"The concern is that while Posidonia oceanica meadows have thrived for millennia their current decline suggests they may no longer be able to adapt to the unprecedented rate of global climate change."

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