Transcript Creatures_of_the_Deep[1]

Creatures of the Deep
Can you believe that….
• "Over 60% of our planet is covered by
water more than a mile deep. The deep
sea is the largest habitat on earth and
is largely unexplored. More people
have traveled into space than have
traveled to the deep ocean realm....”
(The Blue Planet – Seas of Life)
Benthic Zone
• The lowest level of a body of
water….just how low depends on the
depth of the water.
• Some benthic zones close to shore are
only inches below the surface of the
water
• Other benthic zones are miles off shore
and beneath miles of ocean water
Ocean Floor
Benthic Environments
• The bottom environments of the
continental shelf have access to sunlight,
oxygen and nutrients due to the
shallowness of the water.
• The bottom environments of the abyssal
plain and the deep sea trenches, however,
do not have these luxuries and must make
adaptations to survive.
The Viperfish
• Has a photophore at
the tip of its dorsal
to attract prey.
• Additional
photophores down
its side serve as a
countershading • Extremely sharp teeth
camouflage
allow the viperfish to hold
on to prey even though it
cannot see it
Viperfish
• Low basal metabolic
rate allows them to go
days without food
• Very large stomach
relative to their size
so that they can store
up on food when it is
available.
• May migrate up to
3000 meters vertically
at night to hunt
Deep Sea Anglerfish
• Have a photophore on their dorsal similar to the viperfish
to attract prey
• Have a skin pigment that absorbs blue light. Since most
bioluminescent light is blue, this makes them virtually
invisible.
• Can extend its jaw and stomach to swallow prey twice its
size. This adaptation allows it to store up food due to its
scarcity.
Anglerfish Reproduction
• Perhaps the most unique adaptation of the
anglerfish is the way in which it ensures
continuation of the species.
– When a male reaches maturity, his digestive system
shuts down and he can no longer feed on his own.
– He must find a female and attach himself to her with
his hook teeth. This releases an enzyme which
permanently attaches the male to the female, allowing
him to feed off of her. This ensures that a male is
nearby when she releases eggs.
Fangtooth
• Although it resembles the anglerfish, the
Fangtooth does not posses photophores.
• Almost blind, but has extremely high sense of
vibration and movement.
• Must hunt by bumping into objects and quickly
grabbing them with their prominent teeth.
Giant Tubeworms
• Do not require sunlight to
exist
• Contain bacteria inside
them that convert chemicals
released by black smokers
into organics that are food
for the worms.
• A blood type of fluid is found
in the red tips which
supports the bacteria
Deep Sea Sponges
• Rather than filtering food from water as other
choanocytes do, the deep sea sponges have
developed filaments with small hooks on them to
trap small crustaceans. This makes them
carnivores. New filaments then grow over the
prey allowing the sponge to digest it.
References
• Marine Bio Home Page http://marinebio.org/Oceans/TheDeep/
• Exploring the Deep Ocean Floor: Hot Springs and Strange
Creatures http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/exploring.html
• Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary
http://olympiccoast.noaa.gov/living/habitats/oceanfloor/welcome.html
• Sea and Sky http://www.seasky.org/deep-sea/
• Adler, Tina. Deep-sea sponge reaches out, devours - newly
discovered sponge of genus Asbestopluma uses filaments to catch
small crustaceans. Science News. Feb 4, 1995