The boundary between the mesopelagic zone and the bathypelagic zone contains The Deep Scattering layer – a layer of fish, squid, crustaceans etc, that migrate each day from the deep ocean to the shallows at night. This zone is also marked by very low temperatures (5 or 6 degrees Celsius) and having a very low organismal biomass, a trend that will continue until reaching the ocean floor. For instance, in Honduras (where Karl Stanley flies his submarine) the depth is closer to 550 meters, due to the proximity to land. It is a depth that in most open ocean systems is about 1000 meters, but can be much shallower along coastlines. Most sources give the depth range of this zone as 200 meters down to 700 or 1000 meters, but the exact depth is dependent on the clarity of the water, determining where photosynthesis can no longer take place.īathypelagic Zone: The Mesopelagic Zone becomes the Bathypelagic Zone when light no longer penetrates the water. Bioluminescence is prevalent here, helping creatures disguise their silhouettes from animals below them. Eyes of animals in this zone are often quite large, to collect any available light. Organisms here have adaptations to see and keep from being seen. Mesopelagic Zone: Also called the “Twilight Zone,” the Mesopelagic zone still receives some light, but it is not enough to fuel photosynthesis. Each zone has characteristic life and conditions. This vast, pelagic area is further divided into Deep Sea Zones. The oceans cover about 71 percent of Earth’s surface, and about 90 percent of that is considered deep water (below about 600 feet). The ocean is a vast body of water that stretches from tropical waters to frigid polar regions, from shallow seas to deep ocean trenches. Could it have started through chemosynthesis? This new find made us ask questions about how life arose on planet earth. It was previously thought that life depended on photosynthesis, converting sunlight to energy. The most amazing part of this find was that science had found organisms whose primary energy source was not the sun. These bacteria then supported large tube worms, crustaceans, and multitudes of other organisms. The answer came from the discovery that bacteria in the vents were able to convert hydrogen sulfide coming out of the vents into energy. So what was this abundance sustaining itself on? The only food that would have been available was through dead animals floating down from the surface waters. Previously, scientists believed that little lived at these extreme depths. Other deep sea animals include the infamous giant squid, black swallower, tripod fish.ĭeep Sea vents: Chemosynthesis, the basis of life in the deep seaĪ remarkable find when submersibles starting probing the deep sea was the presence of extraordinary abundance of life around mid-ocean vents. In many ways the deep sea is about eat or be eaten. A great example of this is the deep-sea anglerfish. Because food is scarce in this zone most animals have large gaps to ingest any possible food.
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