Exploring Life on the Deep Sea Floor

Deep sea life must choose whether to live on the bottom, or to brave the expansive open ocean of the midwater zone. Creatures that adapt to life in the midwater zone are known as pelagic, while creatures that evolve to be well-suited to an existence on or near the sea floor, are known as benthic or demersal. These two groups could not be more different, but which is a more effective way of life? First, let’s take a look at the demersal creatures of the deep – the bottom-feeders, clinging to rocky seamounts, and burrowing into the mud.

We will begin our investigation in the shallows, and follow the ever-deepening sea-floor down to the far depths of the deep ocean. The diversity of organisms that are adapted to life near the bottom of the deep sea is immense – and far greater than that of pelagic organisms. Life thrives on every part of the ocean floor, from near-shore ecosystems, all the way to the abyss. But the deeper you go, the stranger they become.

Part 2 | Pelagic Deep Sea Life: https://youtu.be/FqHSZ23x1LE

DEEP SEA HUB: https://naturalworldfacts.com/deep-sea-hub

00:00 – Introduction: Pelagic and Demersal Life
00:55 – Part 1: Demersal Creatures of the Deep
01:10 – The Diversity of Benthic Life
01:43 – The Life of Coral Reefs
02:15 – Life at the Continental Shelf
02:29 – Cold-water Coral and Sponge Gardens
03:07 – Life on the Abyssal Plain
03:29 – Advantages of Living on the Sea Floor
03:48 – The Sea-Floor Nutrient Cycle
04:09 – Why Benthic Life is so Abundant
04:45 – The Extent of the Abyssal Plain
05:00 – Deep Sea Infauna and Epifauna
05:26 – The Role of Benthic Life in the Ecosystem
05:53 – Ancient Crinoids of the Deep Sea
06:32 – Benthic Fish of the Deep Sea
07:07 – Limitations of Life on the Sea Floor
07:25 – Seamounts Explained
07:49 – Why Seamounts are Biological Hotspots
08:05 – Life at Cold-Water Reefs
08:31 – Life at Deep Sea Brine Pools
09:04 – Life at Hydrothermal Vents
09:31 – Life at the Bottom of the Mariana Trench
09:53 – The Mariana Snailfish
10:08 – Conclusion: Living on the Sea-floor is an Advantage
10:46 – The Deep Sea Hub

Footage used belongs to Schmidt Ocean Institute, MBARI, OceanX and the Ocean Exploration Institute.

#deepsea #wildlife #nature #documentary #ocean #marinebiology #science #biology

Music Used:
Away – Patrick Patrikios
Feels – Patrick Patrikios
Simple – Patrick Patrikios
Prism – Bobby Richards
Strange the Dreamer – Savfk

Resources:
https://www.marine.usf.edu/pjocean/packets/f98/f98u3le3.pdf