10B – Slide 1
Topic 10B:
Deep-Sea Life
Online Lecture:
Deep-Sea Life
○ Food Sources
○ Hydrothermal Vents
○ Light &
Bioluminescence
○ Chemosynthetic
Communities
All Kinds of Dead, Decaying Material
Sinks Towards the Bottom of the Ocean
Diurnal
Vertical
Migration
Night
10B – Slide 2
Why are there few animals who live in the deep
ocean even though there is lots of space?
Day
Even most
deep ocean
animals
ultimately
rely on the
phytoplankton!
Only about 1% of sinking
material reaches the bottom!
What happens to most of the
material on the way down?
Deep-Sea Life
“Jellies” common.
Benefits of “jelly” body?
Many are
RED –
Why?
10B – Slide 3
Light in the Ocean
Sunlight
Blue light is more
common - Why?
10B – Slide 4
Bioluminescence very common – Why?
Anglerfish
Seeing
Red Organisms
in the Ocean
10B – Slide 5
Red light
“reflects”
(bounces off)
Blue/Green light
“absorbed” (does
not bounce off)
Blue-green light
is absorbed
Hydrothermal Circulation
10B – Slide 6
Vent
The Cycle
Repeats.
The cracks in the ocean floor are caused by
earthquakes and volcanic activity near the MOR.
Hydrothermal Vent Chimney Formation
10B – Slide 7
Vent
Dissolved =
atoms & molecules
are bonded to
water molecules
(“liquid” form)
Vent
The water
does NOT
“pick up”
sediments.
Chemosynthetic Communities
Why is life so
abundant?
10B – Slide 8
Bacterial
Mats
“Cold Seeps”
Why was the
discovery of
chemosynthetic
communities
important?