Humans always made assumptions about the unknowns and nature always proved them wrong. Same thing happened about the deep sea life also. in 19th century, scientists used to think that presence of life form in very deep sea waters is not possible they even had the points to prove with them but yet again nature proved us wrong! It's not that the points presented by scientist were wrong it's jut that nature had answer to that. Let's see what were the points and how cretures came up with the solution to it.
Light :
The deep ocean waters are always as black as night. The deep is also known as the twilight zone. So it is very difficult to live in area where there is no light. Imagine how you will live in area where there is no light! you can't see anyting without light so you can't move and can find food! But creatures from the deep came up with various solutions to that. Bioluminescence is one of them this light is produced by bioluminescence, a chemical reaction in the creature's body that creates a low level light, so deep sea life must rely on alternatives to sight. Many deep sea fish have adapted large eyes to capture what little light exists. Most often, this light is blue-green, but some creatures have also developed the ability to produce red light to lure curious prey. Lack of light also creates a barrier to reproduction. Bioluminescent light is also used to signal potential mates with a specific light pattern. Deep sea creatures are also often equipped with a powerful sense of smell so that chemicals released into the water can attract potential mates.
Temperature :
The difference in temperature between the photic, or sunlit, zones nearer to the surface and the deep sea are dramatic. Temperatures vary more in the waters above the benthic zone where thermoclines, or the separation of water layers of differing temperatures, are more common. In most parts of the deep sea, the water temperature is more uniform and constant. With the exception of hydrothermal vent communities where hot water is emitted into the cold waters, the deep sea temperature remains between 2-4°C.
Pressure :
Considering the volume of water above the deepest parts of the ocean, it's no wonder that pressure is one of the most important environmental factors affecting deep sea life. Pressure increases 1 atmosphere (atm) for each 10 m in depth. The deep sea varies in depth from 700 hundred meters to more than 10,000 m, therefore pressure ranges from 20 atm to more than 1,000 atm. On average, pressure ranges between 200-600 atm! Advances in deep sea technology have enabled scientists to collect species samples under pressure so that they reach the surface for study in good condition. Without this technology, the animals would die shortly after being collected and the absence of pressure would cause their organs to expand and possibly explode. With good samples, we now know that deep sea creatures have adapted to pressure by developing bodies with no excess cavities, such as swim bladders, that would collapse under intense pressure. The flesh and bones of deep sea marine creatures are soft and flabby, which also helps them withstand the pressure.
Oxygen :
The dark, cold waters of the deep are also oxygen-poor environments. Consequently, deep sea life requires little oxygen. Oxygen is transported to the deep sea from the surface where it sinks to the bottom when surface temperatures decrease. Most of this water comes from arctic regions. Surprisingly, the deep sea is not the most oxygen-poor zone in the ocean. The oxygen minimum zone lies between 500-1,000 m, where there are more species that require oxygen depleting the oxygen in this zone during respiration. In addition, the bacteria that feed on decaying food particles descending through the water column also require oxygen. Oxygen is never depleted in the deepest parts of the ocean because there are fewer animals to deplete the available oxygen.
Food :
Deep sea creatures have developed some fascinating feeding mechanisms because of the lack of light and because food is scarce in these zones. Some food comes from the detritus, of decaying plants and animals from the upper zones of the ocean. The corpses of large animals that sink to the bottom provide infrequent feasts for deep sea animals and are consumed rapidly by a variety of species. The deep sea is home to jawless fish such and the lamprey and hagfish, which burrow into the carcass quickly consuming it from the inside out. Deep sea fish also have large and expandable stomachs to hold large quantities of scarce food. They don't expend energy swimming in search of food, rather they remain in one place and ambush their prey using amazing and clever adaptations.
So now it is proved the there are organisms living in deep ocean too. We will one of these next time. and it surely will surprise you and make you to change your assumptions about living things.
References from :
http://www.divediscover.whoi.edu/
http://www.marinebio.com/
Light :
The deep ocean waters are always as black as night. The deep is also known as the twilight zone. So it is very difficult to live in area where there is no light. Imagine how you will live in area where there is no light! you can't see anyting without light so you can't move and can find food! But creatures from the deep came up with various solutions to that. Bioluminescence is one of them this light is produced by bioluminescence, a chemical reaction in the creature's body that creates a low level light, so deep sea life must rely on alternatives to sight. Many deep sea fish have adapted large eyes to capture what little light exists. Most often, this light is blue-green, but some creatures have also developed the ability to produce red light to lure curious prey. Lack of light also creates a barrier to reproduction. Bioluminescent light is also used to signal potential mates with a specific light pattern. Deep sea creatures are also often equipped with a powerful sense of smell so that chemicals released into the water can attract potential mates.
Temperature :
The difference in temperature between the photic, or sunlit, zones nearer to the surface and the deep sea are dramatic. Temperatures vary more in the waters above the benthic zone where thermoclines, or the separation of water layers of differing temperatures, are more common. In most parts of the deep sea, the water temperature is more uniform and constant. With the exception of hydrothermal vent communities where hot water is emitted into the cold waters, the deep sea temperature remains between 2-4°C.
Pressure :
Considering the volume of water above the deepest parts of the ocean, it's no wonder that pressure is one of the most important environmental factors affecting deep sea life. Pressure increases 1 atmosphere (atm) for each 10 m in depth. The deep sea varies in depth from 700 hundred meters to more than 10,000 m, therefore pressure ranges from 20 atm to more than 1,000 atm. On average, pressure ranges between 200-600 atm! Advances in deep sea technology have enabled scientists to collect species samples under pressure so that they reach the surface for study in good condition. Without this technology, the animals would die shortly after being collected and the absence of pressure would cause their organs to expand and possibly explode. With good samples, we now know that deep sea creatures have adapted to pressure by developing bodies with no excess cavities, such as swim bladders, that would collapse under intense pressure. The flesh and bones of deep sea marine creatures are soft and flabby, which also helps them withstand the pressure.
Oxygen :
The dark, cold waters of the deep are also oxygen-poor environments. Consequently, deep sea life requires little oxygen. Oxygen is transported to the deep sea from the surface where it sinks to the bottom when surface temperatures decrease. Most of this water comes from arctic regions. Surprisingly, the deep sea is not the most oxygen-poor zone in the ocean. The oxygen minimum zone lies between 500-1,000 m, where there are more species that require oxygen depleting the oxygen in this zone during respiration. In addition, the bacteria that feed on decaying food particles descending through the water column also require oxygen. Oxygen is never depleted in the deepest parts of the ocean because there are fewer animals to deplete the available oxygen.
Food :
Deep sea creatures have developed some fascinating feeding mechanisms because of the lack of light and because food is scarce in these zones. Some food comes from the detritus, of decaying plants and animals from the upper zones of the ocean. The corpses of large animals that sink to the bottom provide infrequent feasts for deep sea animals and are consumed rapidly by a variety of species. The deep sea is home to jawless fish such and the lamprey and hagfish, which burrow into the carcass quickly consuming it from the inside out. Deep sea fish also have large and expandable stomachs to hold large quantities of scarce food. They don't expend energy swimming in search of food, rather they remain in one place and ambush their prey using amazing and clever adaptations.
So now it is proved the there are organisms living in deep ocean too. We will one of these next time. and it surely will surprise you and make you to change your assumptions about living things.
References from :
http://www.divediscover.whoi.edu/
http://www.marinebio.com/
