Wooooo - Boogey - Boogey! The Ocean Depths! (1) Wooooo - Boogey - Boogey!
Areas of the Deep Sea
How Surface Water Masses Reach The Bottom near Greenland “Thermohaline Circulation” Near the Antarctic
The Great Ocean Conveyor Belt
The Mesopelagic The Twilight Zone
Bottom of Mesopelagic Zone – No Light exists here Deep Sea Life Is Closely Correlated With Plankton Abundance And Light Intensity Thermocline Bottom of Mesopelagic Zone – No Light exists here
The Mesopelagic – Home Of The Oxygen Minimum Zone
Food Sources in the Deep Sea
A Few Mesopelagic Critters …
Mesopelagic Crustaceans Opossum shrimp krill true (decapod) shrimp
A Very Large Ostracod or Seed Shrimp – This One is 1 cm in Length
Mesopelagic Squid Showing Photophores Photophores, or light organs, are characteristic of many animals in the mesopelagic – they are active in bioluminescence
Vampire Squid Exhibiting Photophores
Typical Mesopelagic Fishes hatchetfish pacific viperfish lanternfish dragonfish barracudina longnose lancetfish
Adaptations of Mesopelagic Fishes Small body size – limited food supply Large mouths hinged to disarticulate Generalized omnivores with abundant, long, sharp teeth Feeding habits – migrators and non-migrators Sense organs – tubular eyes with 2 retinas; well-developed lateral lines
Adaptations Con’t.: Coloration and Body Shape Countershading Transparency – especially in upper areas of mesopelagic Lateral compression of the body Photophores and Bioluminescence
Bioluminescent Mesopelagic Fish
Mesopelagic Fishes – Vertical Migrators vs. Non-Migrators Lanternfishes Dragonfishes
An Adaptation for Large Prey – Hinged Jaws! Viper fish Rattrap fish Opportunists of the Deep
Midwater fish - Scopelarchus Convergent Evolution of Tubular Eyes in Mesopelagic Organisms Krill – bilobed eye Midwater fish - Scopelarchus Deep-Sea Octopus
The Field Of Vision Of A Typical Mesopelagic Fish
Having Photophores Is Adaptive ! Squid Without Photophores Squid With Photophores
Cross-Section of a Krill’s Photophore
Wooooo - Boogey - Boogey! The Ocean Depths! (2) Wooooo - Boogey - Boogey!
Below the Mesopelagic – The World of Perpetual Darkness Below this zone which stops at about 1,000 meters is the: Bathypelagic - 1,000 to 4,000 meters Abyssopelagic - 4,000 to 6,000 meters Hadopelagic – below 6,000 meters and into the trenches
The Bathypelagic – Home Of Perpetual Darkness Mesopelagic Bathypelagic (upper reaches)
Adaptations of Deep-Sea Pelagic Fishes An Anglerfish
Adaptations In Two Closely Related Bristlemouth Fishes
Note very small, parasitic male Some Deep-Sea Fishes Anglerfish Note very small, parasitic male Swallower Gulper
The Problem Of Finding A Mate … Produce light ! (bioluminescence) Produce an odor ! (pheromones) Be a parasite and attach to the other sex ! Be a hermaphrodite and say “to heck with it” !
Fish Life On the Floor
The Deep Ocean Floor
Characteristics Of Fish From Different Depths Of The Pelagic
Anatomy Of The Giant Hydrothermal-Vent Tube Worm
Sampling Methods for the Mesopelagic and Beyond … A Remote-Controlled Midwater Trawl
The Chambered Nautilus – A Relic Species From The Past