http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=yeti-crabs-ghost-octopus
Scientists at Oxford University have performed the first deep-sea dive in Antarctica. Before this dive deep sea vent dives were done all over the world, but this was the first time hydrothermal vents were discovered in Antarctica. As Jon Copley, a professor of earth and ocean science at the University of Southampton, who participated in the research said about this exploration "It's only quite recently that we've been able to be bold enough, really, to head to the poles".
Underneath the surface of the ocean are black smoked geysers that average at a temperature of 382 degrees Celsius compared to the temperature of the water around them at 0 degrees Celsius. In the deep end of the ocean sun light is barely reachable for the ocean life, so the species must adapt to alternate sources of energy to survive. Such as, using CO2 as an alternate source of energy for the non-existent sun light. As shown in the picture yeti crabs all bundle together to hunt for bacteria that gathers on them to eventually be eaten by the yeti crabs themselves. Though, the seven armed sea stars prey on the yeti crabs just as the yeti crabs prey on the bacteria for food. As Alex Rogers, a professor of zoology at Oxford University, said about the deep-sea world "We were absolutely stunned to see the animal communities, because they were so different from the hydrothermal vents seen elsewhere".
This research was eventually published in the journal PLoS Biology.
Scientists at Oxford University have performed the first deep-sea dive in Antarctica. Before this dive deep sea vent dives were done all over the world, but this was the first time hydrothermal vents were discovered in Antarctica. As Jon Copley, a professor of earth and ocean science at the University of Southampton, who participated in the research said about this exploration "It's only quite recently that we've been able to be bold enough, really, to head to the poles".
Underneath the surface of the ocean are black smoked geysers that average at a temperature of 382 degrees Celsius compared to the temperature of the water around them at 0 degrees Celsius. In the deep end of the ocean sun light is barely reachable for the ocean life, so the species must adapt to alternate sources of energy to survive. Such as, using CO2 as an alternate source of energy for the non-existent sun light. As shown in the picture yeti crabs all bundle together to hunt for bacteria that gathers on them to eventually be eaten by the yeti crabs themselves. Though, the seven armed sea stars prey on the yeti crabs just as the yeti crabs prey on the bacteria for food. As Alex Rogers, a professor of zoology at Oxford University, said about the deep-sea world "We were absolutely stunned to see the animal communities, because they were so different from the hydrothermal vents seen elsewhere".
This research was eventually published in the journal PLoS Biology.
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