Deep sea (abyssal) gigantism demonstrates the role of natural selection in driving evolution and survival, particularly in an environment characterised by challenging conditions and limited resources. Evolution tends towards the most effective adaptations to grant animals the best chances of survival. And whether large or small, evolution selects for the best-adapted body size to survive these conditions. Though widely debated and often controversial, the research that has been done into the science behind deep sea gigantism has significant implications in the human world; it is believed that climate change may have a greater impact on ocean dwellers than any other population of animals. As the colder oceans warm up, the balance of temperature, oxygen supply, and what organisms are present, will throw the equilibrium off course. And the giants, which rely so heavily on this fine balance, may be the first to go.
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00:00 – Introduction to Deep Sea Gigantism
02:27 – Kleiber’s Rule – The Pressure Misconception
04:06 – Kleiber’s Rule – How Buoyancy Enables Gigantism
05:00 – Kleiber’s Rule – The Efficiency of Larger Animals
05:52 – Kleiber’s Rule – Food Availability in the Deep Sea
07:00 – Gigantism Examples – Gigantism in Amphipods
08:45 – Gigantism Examples – The Colossal Squid
09:18 – Gigantism Examples – The Humboldt Squid
09:38 – Gigantism Examples – The Magnapinna (Bigfin Squid)
10:52 – Gigantism Examples – The Sleeper Sharks
13:41 – Kleiber’s Rule – Metabolism of Deep Sea Giants
14:59 – Kleiber’s Rule – Gigantism in Sponges
16:02 – Polar Gigantism – Bergmann’s Rule
17:43 – Polar Gigantism – Giant Polar Invertebrates
20:00 – Polar Gigantism – The Oxygen-Temperature Hypothesis
21:34 – Polar Gigantism – A Fragile Ecosystem
23:05 – The Island Rule – A Scale Model of Evolution
24:20 – The Island Rule – Adaptive Radiation (Darwin’s Finches)
25:19 – Insular Gigantism and Dwarfism
26:29 – Deep Sea Gigantism and Dwarfism
28:16 – The Island Rule – Islands and the Deep Sea
29:40 – Conclusion
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Written, Narrated and Edited by Leo Richards
I do not own any of the footage. I write the script, narrate, and edit what footage I can find, which is allowed due to YouTube’s ‘Fair Use’ policy as these films are transformative and for educational purposes. Footage used belongs to the incredible marine conservation societies of Schmidt Ocean Institute, MBARI, WHOI and the Ocean Exploration Institute, along with various other YouTube sources. Most footage is used with explicit permission of the copyright owner. In cases where I cannot contact the owner or have not received a reply, I use certain clips in accordance with the Fair Use policy.
Music Used:
Ocean by Aleksey Chistilin
Il. Largo by Hawkins
Under Canopies by Spearfisher
Ripples by Tamuz Dekel
Parallel Dimension by Onyx Music
Marakana by Alon Peretz
Come Back Home by Ardie Son
Elapsed by Sémø
Life by O.B
Waiting for a New Day by Aleksey Chistilin
Stream by ANBR
Sun Up by Laurel Violet
Home of the Gumon by Gareth Coker
Slow Tides by Eleven Tales
Beneath the Mountain by Rising Tide
Autumn Nights by O.B
#deepsea #wildlife #nature #documentary #ocean #marinebiology #science #biology
Bibliography:
The Island Rule and the evolution of body size in the deep sea – JSTOR (no date). Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/3838549.pdf
Vermeij, G.J. (2016) Gigantism and its implications for the history of life, PloS one. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4714876/ (Accessed: November 14, 2022).
Why do some creatures in the deep sea grow to enormous sizes? (2022) Science ABC. Available at: https://www.scienceabc.com/nature/animals/creatures-deep-sea-grow-enormous-sizes.html