deep sea
Opening our eyes in the deep, dark ocean
Our visits to the deep sea are numerous, but how well do we know this remote ecosystem?
Author: Gabrielle Ellis
I am a recent PhD grad in Biological Oceanography at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. I study the community ecology of abyssal animals across space, time, and habitat, and I ask questions often with regard to human impact, specifically deep-sea mining.
Biodiversity
Don’t forget about the little guys: documenting diversity in the ocean
Diversity in the world's oceans is biased towards larger animals, with so many small organisms still undiscovered.
deep sea
See ya later, alligator! The cycle of life for alligators in the deep sea
Scientists sank an alligator to the depths of the Gulf to see what snaps
Methodology
Are we casting the right net? How sampling device influences our understanding of the open ocean
Science is shaped by the tools we use -- even how we visualize the open ocean.
deep sea
Taking a long, hard look at a classic deep-sea theory
Diversity is lower where there is less food: a fundamental deep-sea ecology theory. Is this true everywhere in the deep…
deep sea
The deep-sea paradox: a vast desert-like habitat teeming with microscopic diversity
Animals smaller than a grain of sand dominate the diversity on Earth, especially in the world’s largest biome: the deep…
Microbiology
The more (food) the merrier (polar marine fungi)
Ever considered foraging for fungi in the Antarctic? What about in Antarctic waters? Dr. Barone and scientists discover deep-sea benthic…
Trophic Ecology
Feeling peckish? A diet assessment of a Hawaiian shearwater
Evaluating diet from digested stomach content is difficult and can be inconclusive. That’s why scientists from Hawaii DNA sequenced it…
Climate Change
Crabby about climate change
Scientists predict that climate change could have different implications for shallow and deep-water crustaceans. Read to find out more!
deep sea
What does the deep sea sound like?
Researchers based out of Japan show that deep-sea habitats sound distinct from both shallow water, coastal habitats, and from one…
Conservation
Going for gold: Earth’s marvelous record holders
In the spirit of the Olympics, join us for a celebration of the ocean’s most impressive inhabitants and a reflection…
Human impacts
The high seas: where fishing meets mining
New research out of the University of Hawaiʻi considers how spatially overlapping anthropogenic impacts in the high seas may have…
Biological oceanography
Shedding new light: insights into earth’s largest mass migration event
Researchers based out of Florida use new methods to show that plankton may be a bigger contributor to the world’s…
Conservation
Protecting the unknown: how scientists are evaluating conservation efforts in undescribed areas of the deep sea
Large areas of the seafloor are designated for deep-sea mining, but much of this seascape has not been sampled or…
deep sea
There are plenty more fish in the deep sea!
The deep sea is far from desolate. In their latest research, Dr. Leitner et al. observe the most fish ever…
Methodology
How to catch a dead fish: using eDNA to reconstruct past fish abundances
Japanese researchers show an emerging method, eDNA, can be used to reconstruct fish abundances from up to 300 years ago.
Evolution
A shell of a ride: Pteropod survival through past mass extinction events and insights into present climate change
By looking at DNA and fossils of pelagic sea snails, Dr. Peijnenburg and colleagues are beginning to understand how this…
deep sea
Upward and onward: how deep-sea larvae utilize vertical swimming to disperse across ocean basins
Deep-sea larvae show vastly different dispersal ability and pathways based on simulating how they swim.
Ecology Microbiology
Oh where, oh where can micro-organisms be?
Does the width of 10 strands of human hair matter compared to the size of an entire ocean? A new…
deep sea
Telling time in the deep sea
Can animals tell time in the pitch black of the deep-sea? Find out how researchers Dr. Audrey Mat and others…