cmcclain | December 14, 2006 The Portsmouth Herald discusses sexual dimorphism, specifically body size, in a cheeky sort of pop press way. This is something we never do (e.g. Man Eating Sponges). One comment has me concerned that the writer doesn't read DSN.But in many other species, it's the female who's the big one. In fact, the Guinness Book of World Records has just included an entry for biggest male-female difference: the deep-sea angler fish, also known as the giant sea devil. It was named before anyone saw a male. Females can stretch to around five feet long but the males are about the size of flies. The female…
cmcclain | December 14, 2006
The deep sea represents those marine environments that occur beyond the continental shelf. The average depth at which this occurs is approximately 200m, so typically we define the as those environments greater than 200 meters and extending to approximately 10,000 m (the depth of Mariana's Trench, the deepest point in the ocean).
Although the defining feature is not depth per se but rather the transition from the continental shelf to the continental slope, referred to as the shelf break. The term deep sea can be used to characterize both deep pelagic habitats, the water column greater than…
petnoyer | December 14, 2006I study deep-corals (gorgonians mostly) but I am fascinated by all things cnidarian (sea anemones, hydroids, jellyfish, corals). These are suspension feeders that filter food from the water column, so I am also inevitably drawn to dabblings in physical oceanography, and I will try to post on these whenever I can. For now, though, I think I'll use my first post at the new Deep-Sea News to spill the beans on some old trickery.
One thing you should know about DSN is that Craig keeps real strict rules on his definition of the deep-sea, so I work to find a way around this when something…
cmcclain | December 13, 2006Be careful there are 9 new species of carnivorous sponges. Luckily they are all deep sea so your chances of encountering one on any day are limited. But when the squid overlords take over they may call upon the sponges for the battle. You may not be scared but Vacelet (2006) describes how these are predators with spicules that are hooked for capturing invertebrate prey. Image from Vacelet (2006 Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society).
cmcclain | December 13, 2006To celebrate the move over and the holiday season, we will be reposting the 25 Things You Should Know About The Deep Sea series. There will be one repost a day starting the 12th and going through to the 25th.
cmcclain | December 13, 2006In 1872, the instructions to the captain of the HMS Challenger, the first dedicated global exploration of the oceans, read explore "all aspects of the deep sea...You have a wide field and virgin ground before you."
Nearly 100 years later, C.P. Idyll notes in his forward of Abyss: The Deep Sea and the Creatures that Live In It"The planet earth is still largely unexplored. Nearly 3/4 of its surface covers a vast region that is almost unknown to man.
This is the domain of the sea.
Of the 197 million sq. miles of the earth's surface, 139 million sq. miles are covered by the world ocean...White…