Namib Desert gravel plains nematodes

Soil nematodes are fundamentally aquatic animals, requiring water to move, feed, and reproduce. Nonetheless, they are ubiquitous in desert soils because they can enter an anhydrobiotic state that allows them to persist when water is biologically unavailable.
In the hyper-arid Namib Desert of Namibia, rain is rare, but fog routinely moves inland from the coast and supports plant and animal life. Very little is understood about how this fog may affect soil organisms. We investigated the role of fog moisture in the ecology of free-living, soil nematodes across an 87-km fog gradient in the gravel plains of the Namib Desert.
We found that nematodes emerged from anhydrobiosis and became active during a fog event, suggesting that they can utilize fog moisture to survive.
There was no difference in soil nematode abundance across the fog gradient. Nematode abundance was similar under shrubs and in interplant spaces. Interplant soils harbor biological soil crusts that may sustain nematode communi...