Open Waters by Michael I

OPEN WATERS Designed by Michael Iovino Miles of fascination

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. COLOSSAL SQUID DIGEST FOOD WITH THEIR BRAINS 2. PIRANHA-PROOF ARMOR 3. INVISIBLE WARFARE: BACTERIA 4. CATFISH HAVE ABOUT 100.000 TASTE BUDS 5. DOLPHINS CAN SEE THROUGH ANIMALS 6. SWELLSHARKS 7. POMPEII WORMS HAVE A LIVING SHIELD 8.ANGUILLA EELS CAN WALK ON LAND 9. THE WORLDS LARGEST MIGRATION HAPPENS EVERY DAY SERGASSO SEA 10 .15 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE OCEAN 11.THE ABYSS

COLOSSAL SQUID DIGEST FOOD WITH THEIR BRAINS

The colossal squid, or Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, was believed to be a myth until recently,

and we’ve still only seen a handful in real life. In 2007, the largest specimen yet was found and captured by a crew of New Zealand

fishermen in the Ross Sea near Antarctica. It was massive—a full 10

meters (33 ft) long and almost 450

kilograms (1,000 lbs) in weight. The squid was hauled back to New Zealand to be studied, and they found something pretty incredible: Its

digestive system runs right through the center of its brain.

The brain is built like a dough-

nut—a ring of fleshy mass with a

hole right in the middle. When the colossal squid swallows its prey,

the esophagus carries it through the

brain, which pulls nutrients directly from the food before it reaches its stomach. Gigantic squid like this

inhabit the frigid waters of the deep ocean, and between the cold and

their ridiculously slow metabolisms, they don’t actually need much food to survive. In fact,

the half-ton animal only needs 30 grams (1 oz) of food per day to survive. That’s about what a single AA battery weighs.

Piranha-Proof Fish Armor Piranhas, the razor-toothed terrors of the Amazon River, have few natural predators and an

almost endless buffet of potential prey. Although a single piranha might make a nice meal for a dolphin or a cormorant, their tendency to swim in schools of hundreds keeps most predators at bay, so piranhas live a largely lawless life. As a result, other Amazonian fish have had to adapt to their bullying neighbors, and even the largest fish in the Amazon—the

Arapaima gigas or giant arapaima— needs a second layer of protection.

Giant arapaima are massive fish,

weighing close to 130 kilograms (300 lbs) at adulthood. But as Teddy Roo-

sevelt observed, a school of piranhas won’t shy away from size alone, so

the giant arapaima evolved armor to

withstand the bites. Their scales are built in two layers—the outer layer is a hard, mineralized surface shell, and the inner layer is softer with intricate collagen structures built like rotating 8

stairways. When a piranha’s tooth clamps against the outer shell, the stairway structures bend and rotate to absorb the force without breaking. It’s like punching a pillow rather than a pane of glass—the pillow bounces back into shape.

Invisible Warfare: Bacteria The most abundant

lifeform in the ocean is

one you’ll never see—a

family of bacteria collectively known as SAR11. They live in all the

world’s oceans from the arctic to the tropics, and they’re incredibly effi-

cient at their job—con-

verting dissolved carbon into CO2. The most

abundant predator in the ocean also exists at the microscopic level—a closely related group of viruses called pelagiphages. And they’re waging holy war on the SAR11 bacteria.

What’s happening is a fiercely competitive evolutionary arms race. Twenty-three years ago,

in 1990, the SAR11 bacteria were observed for the first time, and they weren’t given a lot of attention. They don’t do much; there just happen to be a lot of them. But earlier this year, a routine test of the water off the coast of Oregon found a mass of dead SAR11 cells. Swim-

ming in the same water were the previously unknown pelagiphage viruses, and the researchers watched as the viruses murdered the remaining bacteria cells in front of their eyes.

But the SAR11 are so adept at sharing genetic information that they’ve managed to stay one

step ahead of the pelagiphages, constantly evolving to fight them off. And the viruses aren’t far behind. There’s already a completely new subfamily of pelagiphage viruses, evolved to prey on the more evolved SAR11 cultures. It’s a microscopic war unfolding right in front of us.

Catfish Have About 100,000 Taste Buds

Humans have somewhere between 2,000 and 8,000 taste buds, all concentrated on the little

lump of flesh wiggling around your mouth. Catfish, on the other hand, have closer to 100,000 individual taste buds—all over their bodies. In a sense, a catfish is just a big swimming

tongue. Each taste bud is about 50 nanometers (50 billionths of a meter, or 164 billionths of a

foot) wide, and the bigger the fish is, the more taste buds it has. Larger fish can have more than 175,000 taste buds dotted across their body.

Why would an animal—especially one that lives in the mud at the bottom of murky

ponds—need such a strong sense of taste? They use it to hunt. Visibility becomes more limited the deeper you go, so for a bot-

tom dweller like the catfish, sight isn’t always helpful. With their taste buds, catfish can “taste” prey meters away,

like a wolf catching a scent. And with so many buds all over their body, they can

essentially triangulate the prey’s location based on how strongly the taste hits certain body parts. Most of the taste buds

are clustered around the fore region of the catfish so it can home in on the prey once it’s angled in the right direction.

Catfish still use their eyes, but researchers have found that the taste buds are more important

for hunting than sight. Take away a catfish’s eyes and it will still find food. Take away its taste buds, however, and it’s essentially blind.

Dolphins Can See Through Animals

Dolphins, as everybody knows, use sonar to navigate through the water, hunt, communicate,

and do just about everything. Known as echolocation, dolphin sonar involves high frequency

bursts of sound created by forcing air through a network of tissues near their blowholes. A sac

of fatty tissue below their jaws collects the rebounding sound waves and sends them through the

dolphin’s inner ear, where the information is passed on to the brain, creating an “acoustical holographic image,” or a picture of the ocean in front of them.

The high frequency of the echolocation bursts—40–130 kHz—isn’t well suited for traveling

long distances through the water, but its shorter wavelength is perfect for penetrating soft objects. In other words, it travels through the soft bodies of other fish and dolphins and only reflects from 11

the hard surfaces—bones and cartilage. In other (other) words, it functions like X-ray vision,

allowing the dolphin to see into other animals. Based on dolphin behavior (especially in bottlenose dolphins), it’s believed that dolphins can peer into shark stomachs to s Most sharks scare away predators simply by being, well, sharks. However, they do still have predators, and the smaller the shark species, the more predators there are.

Swellsharks

The swellshark is one of the smaller breeds, only growing to about 1 meter (3 ft) long,

roughly the size of a small doberman. Swellsharks are bottom feeders, preferring to ambush

crabs and unsuspecting cuttlefish over the risky thrill of chasing normal fish. An adventurous

day means stealing lobsters from a lobster trap. And as far as defenses go, the swellshark is a master of disguise: When it’s threatened, it sucks water into sacs that curve around its belly, swelling up to twice its normal size.

But then it does something even weirder—it bends its body into a crescent, grabs its tail in

its mouth, and turns itself into a big, inflated ring. The result is something that’s just . . . hard

to eat. And since swellsharks normally lurk in rocky crevices, the swelling effectively wedges them into their hiding spots. So even if a fish gets a hold of them, it won’t be able to pull out

anything larger than a mouthful. It’s often referred to as the most awkward shark in the world. ee when they’re full, or to see when a female is pregnant. Dolphins have also been observed 12

clicking along the seabed to spot hidden fish buried in up to 1 meter (3 ft) of sand.

Pompeii Worms Have A Living Shield “The hottest animal on the planet, but the most difficult to study,” is how the Pompeii worm,

or Alvinella pompejana, has

been described. Not only do

these worms live 2,500 meters (8,000 ft) below the ocean’s

surface on volcanic vents that heat the surrounding water

to 80 °C (176 °F), they also

have an annoying tendency to die when brought to the sur-

face. For a long time, Pompeii

worms were believed to be the

most heat-tolerant animals on the planet. They grow to about 13 centimeters (5 in) long and

live in tubes attached directly to the sides of “black smokers,” smoke-belching exhaust vents on the floor of the East Pacific Rise.

However, their claim to fame has been called into question. Using pressurized capsules,

researchers managed to bring a few of the worms up to a lab and found that after 10 minutes

of exposure to temperatures of 50 °C (122 °F), the worms died and their tissues hardened like

a boiled egg—they were cooked. But the fact remained that Pompeii worms did indeed live in

these temperatures, so they took a closer look and found that a layer of bacteria normally lived around the worms. They had a living shield that absorbed part of the heat from the scalding

water like a fireman’s blanket. In return, the worms were producing a mucous layer that fed the bacteria—a perfect symbiosis.

Anguilla Eels Can Walk On Land Anguilla eels, commonly known as European eels, live in the lakes and waterways of north-

ern Europe and the UK. They’ve been recorded at lengths of nearly 2 meters (6.5 ft), though

they’re normally only about half that size or smaller. But they don’t always stay where they’re supposed to—Anguilla eels can leave the water and slither across dry land for a short amount

of time. They do this for two reasons—the first is to feed, although they usually stick to insects and earthworms. The second reason is to migrate.

Anguilla eels spend about 20 years in the same lake. But they start and end their lives 6,500

kilometers (4,000 mi) across the Atlantic in the Sargasso Sea. To get from their European lakes to the Atlantic, anguillas work their way up and down waterways using an as-yet-undiscovered navigation

system. If the waterway is blocked— with a dam, for example—the eels

leave the water and cross fields and forests to the next stream or river.

Environmentalists are actually using

that unique ability to build climbable

“ladders” on dams and weirs to allow the eels to complete their migrations.

On a slightly more terrifying note, the larger cousins of anguillas, conger eels, can also cross dry land, and also have the tendency to attack people.

Sargasso Sea: The World’s Largest Migration Happens Every Day The Sargasso Sea is perhaps the most unique body of water in the world. It doesn’t have any

borders other than a series of converging currents that hold it roughly in the same place, even

though it’s right in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a body of water within a body of wa-

ter—the Gulf Stream, the North Atlantic Current, and the Canary Current all hit it on different

sides, with the Sargasso Sea acting as the calm center. It was called the “Sea of Lost Ships” by sailors because the air is unnaturally calm and ships could get stuck there for days or weeks. 14

Most importantly, the Sargasso Sea is an almost completely self-sufficient ecosystem. The

sargassum, a floating seaweed that covers the surface of the sea, provides food and shelter

for thousands of species, which in turn provide food for the sargassum through their waste. There are layers upon layers

of marine life in the sea, from surface dwellers to deep-sea

life over 5000 meters (16,000

ft) down. And at night, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the setting for the largest migra-

tion in the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;over 5,000

species comprising millions of

sea creatures surge up from the deep to feed, then return to the bottom before dawn.

Aubrey Vaughn Auguest 1, 2009 Mother Earth News, www.motherearchnews.com

15 Interesting Ocean Facts 1. For starters, did you know that 94 percent of life on Earth is aquatic? That makes us land-dwellers a very small minority. 2. About 70 percent of the planet is ocean, with an average depth of more than 12,400 feet. Given that photons (light) can’t penetrate more than 330 feet below the water’s surface, most of our planet is in a perpetual state of darkness.

3. Fifty percent of the United States (in terms of our complete legal jurisdiction, which includes ocean territory) lies below the ocean. 4. The deep sea is the largest museum on Earth: There are more artifacts and remnants of history in the ocean than in all of the world’s museums, combined. 16

5. We have only explored less than 5 percent of the Earth’s oceans. In fact, we have better maps of Mars than we do of the ocean floor (even the submerged half of the United States).

6. The longest mountain range in the world is under water. Called the Mid-Oceanic Ridge, this chain of mountains runs through the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and into the Indian and Pacific oceans. It runs more than 35,000 miles long, has peaks higher than those in the Alps and it comprises 23 percent of the Earth’s total surface.

7. We didn’t send divers down to explore the Mid-Ocean Ridge until 1973 — four years after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon — when a French-American crew of seven entered the 9,000-foot-deep Great Rift in the French submersible Archimede.

8. The ocean boasts an array of unusual geographic features, such as pillars that reach several stories high and chimneys that send up sulphuric acid. In the ocean-floor neighborhood of the Gulf of Mexico, brine pools mark the floor, along with underwater volcanoes that spew mud and methane, rather than lava.

9. These wonderful formations aren’t barren, either. Underwater hot springs that shoot water that’s 650 degrees Fahrenheit — hot enough to melt lead — boast a profusion of life, from 10-foot tall tubeworms to giant clams that function without digestive systems.

10. Many of the rules that apply on land are turned upside down in the ocean, some literally. Beneath the surface, often not far from popular vacation beaches, are underwater lakes, waterfalls and even upside-down lakes! (You might have to see it to believe it. Check out Gallo’s video of Underwater Astonishments to see a wealth of underwater marvels.) 11. Much of the life in the oceans, as on land, is invisible to the naked eye. For instance, if you’ve ever swallowed a milliliter of ocean water, know that you also gulped 1 million bacteria and 10 million viruses — give or take a few. No need to worry though, swimmers around the world swallow some ocean water during their ventures into the water, without ill effects. 12. Also living on hydrothermal vents are 140- to 160-foot long jellies, which use a process called chemosynthesis (think photosynthesis, but adapted to zero sunlight) to convert the hydrothermal water into simple sugars for food. Most striking are the extremes in which the jellies live. Temperatures vary drastically near the vents, so while the tops of the jellies enjoy lows of 37 degrees, their bottoms (at the vent) bask in a toasty 392 degrees — happy as clams, or jellies, rather. 13. Extreme temperatures aren’t the only seeming barrier to life, but again, the laws below the surface differ from those above. The immense pressure of the water on a human diving to greater depths is one of the biggest hurdles to exploring the deepest parts of the oceans — yet, at depths that would crush the Titanic like a Coke can, crabs, octopuses and tubeworms go about their business.

14. But even the more familiar ocean creatures have interesting and unexpected traits and habits. Did you know that an octopus’s speed of travel never exceeds that of the surrounding waves? That same octopus employs amazing camouflaging talents — changing color, shape, and even its texture, pattern and brightness — to blend in to its surroundings. 15. Another example is the male squid, which turns a warm brown color to attract females, or white to warn away interloping males. Most intriguing is that the male never shows its white, aggressive side to the female. In a colorful show of marine multitasking, the male squid will turn the side facing his prospective mate the welcoming brown, while simultaneously turning sideways so that she can’t see he’s made his outward-facing flank white. Hooked yet? Find out more about many of these ocean facts, along with dozens of others and some great underwater photos and video. The oceans may truly be the last unexplored wilderness on Earth. And science shows that as breathtaking and surprising as they are, they also hold the potential for perhaps millions of discoveries. From finding new species and unorthodox geologic activities and unusual geographies, to better understanding the potential of our planet and life on it, the possibilities in the ocean are truly endless.

Key Concepts 1. Light does not penetrate deep enough to provide energy for photosynthesis in the deep sea.

2. Food webs in much of the deep sea are fueled by detritus (decaying organic material) drifting down from the lighted layers above.

3. Many unique animals do populate these dark waters, feeding on detritus and each other.

4. Deep sea organisms are often small, gelatinous and bioluminescent.

Background Sunlight is the original source of energy for photosynthesis. Though one might expect the vast, dark regions of the deep sea to be unable to support life without sunlight, they are, in fact, connected to the solar based food webs of the shallows by the fall of detritus, or “marine snow”. The animals that inhabit the dark regions of the ocean survive by feeding on the marine snow or 20

on each other. They live in dark, very cold waters under extreme pressures. Though the deep sea fish tend to look fierce, most, but not all, are quite small. Their fierce appearance comes from adaptations that allow them to eat anything that comes their way in the sparsely populated waters. Many have sharp fang-like teeth to hold prey. Many have greatly expandable stomachs and jaws that unhinge to allow them to swallow prey larger than themselves. Some have photophores, pockets of bioluminescent bacteria, that they may use as fishing lures to attract prey close to their hungry mouths. Photophores may also function as identification tags so fish can find others of their species in order to reproduce. Special adaptations for reproduction must be important in an unlighted sea where fellow fish may be few and far between. The male anglerfish, for example, is much smaller than the female, and attaches to the female, literally feeding off her blood. In return, he provides sperm to fertilize her eggs. These deep sea creatures also tend to have fairly soft bodies. The ferocious looking dragonfish, for example, actually has a small, gelatinous body.

Pacific Viperfish The Pacific viperfish feeds on lanternfish and squid. It has a very large mouth and fang-like teeth. Once the viperfish catches something, it wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get away. Its size ranges from 22-30 cm. Notice the two rows of photophores. Look at the long, thin ray on the back (dorsal) fin. How might the ray help attract a tasty meal?

Deep Sea Squid This squid can grow to 30 cm in length. Its photophores adjust to match the ocean twilight. It can move very quickly forward or backward. The two longest tentacles grab and hold its prey. The smaller tentacles move the prey to its mouth. The eyes are of different sizes. Scientists don’t know why. Do you have any ideas?

Lanternfish The lanternfish is very common in the deep water. It lives where there is some light. It has very large eyes. The lanternfish swims up and down every day. It stays in the deep water during the day. It moves closer to the surface at night. Scientists think lanternfish may move like this to feed. They are not sure. Its photophores may help it find and communicate with other lanternfish. It grows to about 13cm in length.

Anglerfish The anglerfish can grow to 10 cm in length. It has an appendage that looks like a fishing pole and lure. The “lure” is a large photophore. It may help attract prey. It is hard to find and keep mates in the deep sea. The anglerfish has a solution. The adult male anglerfish attaches himself to the female by biting on to her. Once attached, his body becomes part of hers. They mate for life.

Hatchetfish The small hatchetfish (to 6 cm) has upward facing eyes. They allow it to see its food in the dimly lit waters above. Once food is spotted, the hatchetfish makes a couple of quick strokes. Then its upward facing mouth can grab its prey. The hatchetfish has photophores on the bottom side. The light helps hide its outline. Other fish swimming below the hatchetfish see the light and not the hatchetfishâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s silhouette. This kind of coloring is called countershading.

Snipe Eel The snipe eel grows to 140 cm in length. It is among the biggest deep sea fish. It has a very long beak-like mouth. The mouth has bristles along the edges. For a long time scientists wondered how the snipe eel used these bristles. Finally, they observed the snipe eel feeding. The snipe eel waves its head back and forth in the water. The bristles act like Velcro to snag deep sea shrimp by the antennae.

Deep Sea Shrimp The bright red Deep Sea Shrimp is only 4 cm long. It seems much longer because of its very long antennae. These antennae may sense different chemicals in the water. The chemicals help the shrimp find food and mates. They may also help it avoid predators. The Deep Sea Shrimp has red photophores on its underside. The photophores countershade the shrimp.

Gulper Eel

The gulper eel has a very large mouth. It also has a stomach that can stretch. This lets the gulper eel eat prey equal to itself in size. The gulper eel can grow to 76 cm. Most gulper eels are about 40 cm long.

Tripod Fish The dull brown tripod fish lives on the ocean floor. The pelvic fins are very long, about half the length of these fish which can grow to 29 cm. The pelvic fins and long tail help the tripod fish skim along the ocean floor. Tripod fish eat zooplankton. Threads on the fins sense the zooplankton in the water when they brush into the fins.

Eelpout The translucent eelpout is a common deep water fish. It has a very uncommon behavior. When this fish is startled, it rolls up into a donut shape. Scientists wonder how this helps them survive. Some think it makes the eelpout look like a stinging jellyfish. The eelpout grows to 18 cm. It eats any animal it can fit into its mouth.

Siphonophore Many different kinds of siphonophores live in the deep sea. This one can grow to 20 meters in length. A siphonophore is one animal made of many individual animals. Scientists call it a colony. The tentacles act as fishing lures. The lures attract the prey. The tentacles sting it. Then they pull it into one of the mouths.

Colobonema jelly This 4 cm long jelly can glow (bioluminesce). Its tentacles pulse blue and red. They change color as it swims through the water. When a predator appears, the colobonema increases light output. Then, in an instant, it separates its lighted tentacles. The jelly swims off in a different direction. The predator is left with some stringy tentacles. The jelly is free.

Amphipod A large (up to 15 cm) relative of the common beach hopper, this amphipod flits around the deep sea. Its giant compound eyes help it search for food. Glowing with a cool, white light, its body is transparent. The light may help it find a mate.

Blackdragon In spite of the long whisker, this is a female blackdragon. She feeds at the sea surface, swimming hundreds of feet up and back each night. Females may grow to 38 cm, males are smaller. Male blackdragons do not feed at all. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even have a stomach! They only live long enough to mate.

Bristlemouth Growing to about 8 cm in length, these are the most abundant fishes in the world. A bristlemouth eats tiny plankton which it catches on the thousands of fine bristles that line its mouth. A row of photophores on its underside help it hide from predators below.

Larvacean Smaller than a standard pencil width, this animal builds a transparent slime-house. Its wagging tail pumps water through its home. In a clever way to feed, it builds a net to catch detritus or marine snow in the water it pumps. When the net clogs, it flicks it off and builds a new one.

Shining Tubeshoulder Photophores light the belly of this shiny black fish. Growing to 33 cm in length, this fish has an odd tube on each shoulder. The tubes can release a glowing slime. The slime may confuse its predators. At night, the young of these fish swim upwards to feed on shrimp.

Tadpole snailfish Looking very much like a frog tadpole, this small fish (up to 6 cm) scoops up shrimp as it swims. Its soft body makes it a favorite meal for other deep sea fish.

OPEN WATERS LETS YOU DIVE IN DEEP INTO A REALM OF WHAT AT TIMES ALMOST SEEMS LIKE SOMETHING ONE WOULD SEE OUT OF A SCI-FI MOVIE, WITH AN ENDLESS ARRAY OF SPECIES IN A CONTINOUS DEEP OCEAN, SWIM DEEPER INTO THE CONFINES OF THE OCEANS WHERE YOU WILL FIND A NEVER ENDING WORLD. The ocean is the lifeblood of Earth, covering more than 70 percent of the planet’s surface, driving weather, regulating temperature, and ultimately supporting all living organisms. 95 percent of this realm remains unexplored, unseen by human eyes.

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