Read the following passage:
In his 1884 treatise on deep-sea fauna, biologist Anton Dohrn addressed the persistent debate surrounding the physiological adaptations of abyssal organisms. Early nineteenth-century naturalists had argued that the intense hydrostatic pressure at extreme depths would render animal tissues completely rigid, effectively arresting all metabolic functions. Dohrn, however, maintained that organisms possessed internal fluid pressures that counteracted external forces, allowing them to harbor life under conditions previously deemed hostile. To substantiate his argument, Dohrn examined several newly retrieved specimens of bathyal invertebrates, noting that their delicate cellular structures remained supple despite the immensity of the ocean floor. By demonstrating that hydrostatic equilibrium prevented physical collapse, Dohrn successfully punctured the prevailing doctrine that the abyssal zone was an inert, uninhabitable void, thereby opening a new chapter in oceanographic research.
In the context of the passage, what is the contextual meaning of the word "harbor" as used in the third sentence?
Answer: host / shelter / sustain / house / contain / support