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The Deep.

Venturing into the Deep Ocean- Warning: May contain LL Cool J.

The organisms of the sea are many and varied, containing some of the most captivating creatures on Earth, living in some of the most bizzarre and fascinating environments in the world.

Probably the most bizzarre and fascinating, the dark depths of the world's oceans are also the least explored. Only about 5% of the Ocean Floor (which, coincidentally, takes up around 75% of the surface area of our Earth) has been successfully mapped, and current estimates about the number of unknown species inhabiting it ranges anywhere from ten to thirty million! (http://www.thedeepbook.org/nouvian_bookpage.html)

Ecosystem Interactions

It's hard to know for sure the lifestyles, diets, interactions, or anything really about the creatures that dwell in the dark depths of the deepest oceans. Clues and educated guesses make up the majority of our information on deep sea marine organisms. We do have, however - thanks to research by committed individuals and organizations - some idea of the lifestyles and relationships of these organisms.

While the deep sea is host to the largest concentration of life on Earth, it is also extraordinarily vast - meaning that finding other organisms to feed on can often be a difficult and tedious task for those hoping to survive in the darkness. Therefore, deep sea predators must either be extremely efficient, able to survive for long periods of time without food, or both. For this same reason, meetings between deep sea organisms are often not the ideal situations for sunshine and happiness - There are no rainbows in the dark down here, Mr. Dio.

There do, however, exist symbiotic relationships even in the harsh realm of The Deep - For example, some species of the deep sea "Angler Fish" have a very strange relationship where the male, which is much smaller than the female, attaches itself permanently to the body of the female; henceforth living off of the female in exchange for a constant supply of sperm available to the female.

Resources and Climate

The Climate of the deep sea is obviously very cold, dark, and lacks much physical feature and/or plant life (as plants require sunlight to survive). Many deep sea organisms, then, rely on what is called Marine Snow - a continuous shower of mostly non-living organic material (such as the bodies of dead organisms and fecal matter) which originates mostly in the photic zone and rains down upon the lower zones of the ocean depths, supplying the organisms down there with a consistent source of sustenance.

Adaptations

With the deep sea being such an extraordinary, unusual and often dangerous environment, it's inhabitants must adapt to survive in the unforgiving depths. Most species which dwell in the deep sea have some sort of adaptation or function which enables them to survive in their environment. Many are "Bioluminescent" - meaning their bodies can produce light naturally. There are some distinct physical features that are common between most creatures of the deep; such as big eyes, large mouths and teeth, dark coloration, and stretchy stomachs of proportions which greatly exceed that of their body size. Many deep sea fish also have a dark lining in their stomach which conceals the bioluminescent glow of other fish they have eaten, and thereby prevents said glow from revealing them to other, more threatening fish...


....0_0.

Others, such as the deep sea Angler Fish (shown above) have developed what could be considered natural fishing lines - Retractable cords protruding from the fish's head or spine, upon which hang a bioluminescent orb used to lure in smaller prey close to the mouth; where they would then be devoured quickly, painfully and without mercy.

Benefits, Efforts and Organizations

The people at NODOR (the National Organization for Deep Ocean Research) said it best. "We know more about the surface of the moon than about the organisms that inhabit the deep." - [Original Text Here]. The depths of the world's oceans are so mysterious to us, their secrets so elusive, that we have discovered more about our own solar system (an area spanning approximately 100,000 light years in diameter) than we have about this section of our own planet.

The benefits of deep ocean research are more significant than most would believe. Beyond mere curiosity, there are highly productive and legitimate reasons for more extensive research into the secrets of The Deep and it's inhabitants. There is, for example, research being conducted in the field of cancer treatment, which involves using the bioluminescence produced by deep sea organisms in mice to track cancer cells, and thereby pinpoint the origin of such cells.




Efforts to conduct deep sea research are being made presently by some organizations, such as NODOR, and can advance us to a point in our understanding - however, we will never truly grasp the true magnitude of what lies beneath us until more efforts are led to conduct research in The Deep.