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How Surface Water Masses Reach The Bottom
near Greenland
Near the Antarctic
“Thermohaline Circulation”
Deep Sea Life Is Closely Correlated With Plankton Abundance And Light Intensity
Bottom of Mesopelagic Zone – No Light exists
here
Thermocline
Mesopelagic Squid Showing Photophores
Photophores, or light organs, are characteristic of many animals in the mesopelagic – they are active
in bioluminescence
Typical Mesopelagic Fishes
hatchetfishlanternfish
longnose
lancetfish
pacific viperfish
barracudina
dragonfish
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
Convergent Evolution of Tubular Eyes in Mesopelagic Organisms
Midwater fish - Scopelarchus
Deep-Sea Octopus
Krill – bilobed eye
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 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” !