Download Deep Sea Trenches

Deep Sea Trenches
J Izzy
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General Characteristics
• Any long, narrow, steep-sided depression
in the ocean bottom in which occur in
maximum oceanic depths.
• They are approximately 7,300 to 11,000
• Usually are located where one tectonic
plate sub-ducts under another
Different Trenches
• Peru-Chile Trench- longest ocean trench
in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Maximum
depth of 26,460 feet and 3,666 miles long
• Mariana Trench- the deepest trench
known in the western portion of the North
Pacific Ocean. 1580 miles long and a
Maximum depth of 35,797 ft
Human Impact
• Like other oceanic trenches, the Mariana Trench has been proposed
as a site for nuclear waste disposal, in the hope that tectonic
plate subduction occurring at the site might eventually push the
nuclear waste deep into the Earth’s mantle. However, ocean
dumping of nuclear waste is prohibited by international
law. Furthermore, plate subduction zones are associated with very
large megathrust earthquakes of which the effects on any specific
site are unpredictable and possibly adverse to the safety of longterm disposal.
Mariana Trench
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYjyGf
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DoWdH
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q36_8s5z
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Organisms of the Trench
The deep sea anglerfish has a round body
that resembles a basketball, and indeed, it
looks like it could easily swallow one. It has a
very large mouth with sharp, fang-like teeth.
Its grotesque appearance has earned it the
nickname "common black devil". Despite its
ferocious appearance, the angler is a small
fish, reaching a maximum length of only
about five inches (12 centimeters). The color
of this anglerfish ranges from brown to dark
gray or black. It has soft flesh and bones and
small eyes. Its skin is specially adapted to
reflect blue light. Since nearly all light emitted
from bioluminescent creatures is blue, the
anglerfish can be nearly invisible to other
deep sea animals. Due to its wide, round
body, it cannot swim very fast. Instead, it
somewhat "wobbles" through the water.
The hagfish is a true monster of the deep. To see why, one
only has to examine its greusome feeding habits. A hagfish
begins its feeding process by attaching itself to a passing
fish. Once firmly attached, it then bores its way inside its
unsuspecting host. Once inside, the hagfish will actually eat
the fish's flesh with a specialized rasping tongue. It literally
eats its victim from the inside out. When no large prey can
be found, hagfish will feed on worms and other small
invertebrates they find on the ocean floor.
In the wild, they have a deep blue
color which is thought to help
camoflauge them from predators.
The eyes of the coelacanth are
extremely sensitive to light. They
contain a special adaptation known
as a tapetum, which is also found in
cats, dogs, and dolphins. It is the
tapetum that causes a cat's eyes to
glow when exposed to bright light.
This highly specialized eye enables
the coelacanth to see as much as
possible in the lightless environments
of the deep sea.
Like most cephalopods, it can use jet propulsion
to attain speeds of over two knots. A small tube
near the animal's tentacles, known as a siphon,
expels water under pressure. This propels the
nautilus in the opposite direction at high speeds.
It is believed that the fish can use these
flashing lights in the dark waters to attract
prey and even to signal potential mates. The
dragonfish has a large head and mouth
equipped with many sharp, fang-like teeth. It
also has a long protrusion known as a
barbel attached to its chin. This barbel is
tipped with a light-producing photophore.
The dragonfish also has photophores along
the sides of its body. These light organs may
be used to signal other dragonfish during
mating. They may also serve to attract and
disorient prey fishes from deep below.
Because its eyesight is not good, many
researchers think the fangtooth hunts by a
process known as chemoreception, where it
essentially must bump into something edible as it
searches the dark waters. It is believed that
these fish migrate to upper layers of the ocean to
feed during the night and then return to the
murky depths during the day.
Thousands of tiny photophores can be found
throughout the squid's body, giving it the ability
to emit light along its entire form. The lights can
be flashed in unison or alternated in an endless
number of animated patterns. These light shows
are thought to serve several functions. They can
be used to communicate with potential mates or
rivals. They may also be used to disguise the
squid's shape and confuse predators, allowing it
to escape. The firefly squid is the only member
of the squid family that is believed to have color
vision.
The giant isopod is a carnivorous
crustacean that spends its time
scavenging the deep sea floor. Food is
extremely scarce at these great depths,
so the isopod has adapted to eat what
ever happens to fall from above. This
includes the bodies of dead whales,
fish, and squid.
Many researchers believe the giant squid to be a very
aggressive animal. During World War II, stories from the
survivors of sunken ships tell of shipmates being eaten
by these creatures in the dark of night. There have even
been reports of giant squid reaching out of the water
and pulling men off small boats. None of these reports
have been officially verified, but they do paint a picture
of a powerful predator.
Perhaps the most noticeable characteristic of
these worms is their bright red plume. This is
a specialized organ used for exchanging
compounds such as oxygen, carbon dioxide,
and hydrogen sulphide with the seawater.
The bright red color comes from the
presence of large amounts of hemoglobin
(blood). It is this plume that provides
nutrients to the bacteria that live inside the
worm.
The eel uses its long tail for movement. The end of
the tail is tipped with a light-producing organ known
as a photophore. Through a process known
as biolumenesence, the photophore glows pink
and can give off occasional red flashes. Since the
eel's body is not built for chasing prey, It is believed
that the eel uses this light as a fishing lure to
attract fish and other creatures close to its
enormous mouth.
The Bythograea crab is one of the top
predators of the ecosystem, eating everything
from bacteria to clams, and even other crabs.
Because of their mobility, they are often the
first to colonize a new vent. In comparison to
crabs we see on the beach, Bythograea crabs
live under pressure 250 times greater than we
experience on land, and an adult Bythograea
crab will die if brought to the surface.
There are over two hundred different
species of lanternfishes in the deep sea. In
fact, they are thought to be some the most
common deep ocean creatures. Sampling
by deep sea trawling indicates that
lanternfish make up as much as 65% of
the deep sea biomass. They are among
the most most widely distributed and
diverse of all vertebrate species and it is
believed that they play an important role
as prey for larger organisms.
The Zoarcid fish, or eelpout, live among the
tubeworms and mussels near sea vents.
Despite being slow moving, they are the
top predators of this ecosystem, feasting
on everything from crabs to tubeworms.
Although sixgill sharks are usually slow and
sluggish, their body structure allows them to
attain high bursts of speed when chasing
and catching their prey. They are
carnivorous predators, feeding mostly on
cephalopods, crustaceans, fish, and rays,
and some marine mammals. These sharks
spend most of their time in deep water
during the day. At night, they undertake
vertical migrations up to shallower waters to
feed.
The snipe eel's upper and lower jaws
are extremely long and curve away from
each other at the tips. This means that
they don't meet when the eel closes its
mouth. These curved jaws help the eel
to catch its food. The jaws are covered
with tiny hooked teeth that help capture
tiny shrimp and other crustaceans. As
the eel swims along with its mouth
open, tiny backward-pointing teeth snag
the antenna of the shrimp.
Like other toothed whales, sperm whales
use echolocation to find their food. They
create a series of high-frequency clicks
through cavities in their skull. These
clicking sounds reflect back off of fish,
squid, and other animals, allowing the
whale to virtually see in the dark. This skill
comes in handy as the sperm whales
search the dark ocean depths for food.
Their favorite meal is squid, and these
whales are one of the only natural
enemies of the legendary giant squid and
its larger cousin, the colossal squid.
The squid has incredible control over these light
organs. It has the ability to modulate the size and
intensity of the photophores to create complex
patterns that can be used to disorient predators and
attract prey. The photophores are larger and more
complex at the tips of the arms and the base of its
two fins. Unlike most other squid, it does not have the
ability to change its color. This ability would be
useless in the dark environments in which it lives. The
squid's light show is probably its main form of
defense, since it lacks the ink sack which is present in
other squid species. It can, however, eject a thick
cloud of glowing, bioluminescent mucus from the tips
of its arms when threatened.
The unusually large teeth of the
viperfish help it to grab hold of its
prey at it hunts in the darkness.
Viperfish have been observed
hanging motionless in the water,
waving their lures over their heads
like a fishing pole to attract their
meals.
Simple
Chemicals
H2S
Primary
Producers
Primary
Consumers
Vent
Bacteria
Vent Amphipod
First Order
Carnivores
Tube-dwelling
Anemones
Top Order
Carnivore
Vent Ratfish
Vent Clam
CO2
Vent Shrimp
O2
Symbiotic
Bacteria
Dandelion
Vent Octopus
Siphonophores
Blind Crabs
Riftia Worm
Vent Mussel
Zoarcid Fish
Bythograea crab
CH4
Pompeii Worm
Vent Zooplankton
Galtheid
Crabs
Sperm Whale
Simple
Chemicals
H2S
Primary
Producers
Primary
Consumers
Vent
Bacteria
Vent Amphipod
CO2
First Order
Carnivores
Galtheid
Crabs
Vent Zooplankton
Vent Shrimp
CH4
Riftia Worm
Vent Mussel
Pompeii Worm
Vent Clam
Vent Ratfish
Dandelion
Siphonophores Vent Octopus
O2
Symbiotic
Bacteria
Top Order
Carnivore
Tube-dwelling
Anemones
Zoarcid Fish
Bythograea
crab
Blind Crabs
Sperm
Whale
Highlight Organisms
Primary Producer: Vent Bacteria
Vent bacteria uses the process of
chemosynthesis to produce
carbohydrates from the hydrogen
sulfide that pours out of the vents.
These are the base of the food
chain in vents.
Acrobacter sulfidicus
Taxonomy:
Kingdom Bacteria
Phylum Proteobacteria
Class
Delta
Order
Epsilonproteobacteria
Family Campylobacterales
Genus Campylobacteraceae
Species Arcobacter
Primary Consumer: Vent Tubeworm
They live off of the
bacteria inside them.
They have no mouth,
eyes, or stomach.
Riftia pachptyla
Taxonomy:
Kingdom Eukaryota
Phylum Metozoa
Class
Annelida
Order
Palata
Family Sabellida
Genus Siboglinidae
Species Riftia
Secondary Consumer: Zoracrid Fish
These two-foot long white fish are
top predators around vents. They
eat everything from tubeworms to
shrimp. These fish are slow and
lethargic, they spend most of their
time floating around clumps of
tube worms and mussels.
Pachycara gymninium
Taxonomy:
Kingdom Eukaryota
Phylum Chordata
Class
Euteleostomi
Order
Acanthomorpha
Family Zoarcoidae
Genus Lycodinae
Species Pachyara
A J Izzy Production
&
Work Cited
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www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3748096
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanic_trench
cmbc.ucsd.edu/Students/Current_Students/SIO277/Trenches.pdf
http://geology.com/press-release/deepest-part-of-the-ocean/
http://alpinfun.blogspot.com/2010/04/pictures-from-deepest-depths.html
http://www.seasky.org/deep-sea/deep-sea-menu.html#search
http://www.mnh.si.edu/onehundredyears/featured_objects/Riftia.html