BIOLOGY 205 Midterm: Bio205Midterm3
15 Sep 2016
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Document Summary
Recall challenges of living in the deep sea. Challenges of living in the deep sea: no light, high pressure, constantly cold, limited food. Visual detection of prey, predators, mates etc is challenging unless light is produced locally by animals - bioluminescence. Food is limited - to stay off the menu, become invisible! Meso- and bathypelagic predator found to 1,500m. Identify sources of nutrition for deep sea organisms. Energy in the deep sea: chemosynthesis, marine snow, whale falls, wood falls. Energy production in the deep sea without light at methane seeps, hydrothermal vents and whale/wood falls. Biological conversion of carbon molecules and nutrients into organic matter using the oxidation of inorganic molecules like hydrogen gas, hydrogen sulfide or methane as a source of energy. Hydrogen sulfide + carbon dioxide carbohydrates + water + sulfur. Detritus falling from upper parts of the ocean - perhaps 1% of surface production lands on the deep ocean floor.
