The best introduction to the natural history of the deep sea is the book by Gage, J.D. & Tyler, P.A.,
1991, Deep-sea biology: a natural history of organisms at the deep-sea floor. Cambridge University
Press, xvi + 504 pp.
>I once thought the way you currently do until I took a Benthic Marine
>Biology course in University
>this summer. The deep sea is environmentally stable habitat but it is
>nutrient poor. Most nutrients
>become used up while in the water column and never make it to the deep
>ocean floor. The animal
>density is very low in this area but there are a great number of species
>that survive there. If
>fact, there are more species found in the sediment of the Deep sea than
>there are in any other area
>of the ocean. Other areas of the ocean undergo drastic changes in
>salinity, temperature...etc which
>pose many physiological demands on organisms living there. Hydrothermal
>vents are an example of deep
>sea habitat. This particular deep sea environment is abundant with
>chemoautotrophic bacteria,
>vestimentifera worms, bivalves...etc. Do some reading...you'll soon
>realize that it is a WONDERFUL
>place!!! I hope I've helped!!
>
> Jon Gottsche & Shelley Parker wrote:
>
> > Hi, I was told that the deep sea is pretty barren ( native life ) in
>comparision to the coastal
> > regions of the oceans. If that is so, where would one draw a line to
>say, " here is an abundence
>of life, here is an area of little life."
> >
Dr. Amelie H. Scheltema Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Woods Hole, MA 02543 USA Tel:
508/289-2337 FAX: 508-457-2134 ascheltema at whoi.edu (Amelie Scheltema)
