Exploring the Deep Sea Food Web

The deep sea appears barren, lifeless, and silent. The lonely expanse rolls out into a long horizon, while the great abyss plummets ever-downwards into darkness. Communities of life are solitary. They seem isolated from other habitats in the deep. But there is more going on here. The exact nature of the deep sea food web is still not fully understood, but advancements in technology and research in recent years have granted us a greater understanding of how these separate settlements of life are interconnected as one. Let’s take a closer look at the food web of the deep sea.

00:00 – Introduction: The Deep Sea Food Web
01:05 – Photoautotrophs: Plants and Phytoplankton
01:48 – Producers: Photosynthesis as a Source of Energy
02:01 – Primary Consumers: Herbivores
02:23 – Secondary Consumers: Carnivores and Top Predators
02:47 – Marine Snow: How Nutrients Reach the Deep Sea
03:32 – Hydrothermal Vents: Energy Production in the Deep Sea
03:59 – Chemosynthesis Explained
04:41 – Primary Consumers: Grazing the Microbial Mats
05:08 – Secondary Consumers: Predators at Deep Sea Vents
05:18 – The Deep Sea Nutrient Cycle
05:52 – The Nutrient Supply Chain
06:24 – The Pelagic Ocean Wanderers
06:50 – Trophic Levels in the Deep Sea
07:55 – Whale-Fall Ecosystems Explained
08:24 – Whale-Falls: The Mobile-Scavenger Stage
08:56 – Whale-Falls: The Sulfophilic Stage
10:06 – Conclusion
11:05 – The Deep Sea Hub

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

Footage used is from MBARI, OceanX, the Ocean Exploration Institute and the Schmidt Ocean Institute.

Music Used:
Future Rennaisance – Godmode
Melancholia – Godmode
To Pass Time – Godmode
Dolphin-esque – Godmode
The Darkest Path – Jeremy Korpas
Shibuya – Bad Snacks

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

Resources:
https://www.mbari.org/deep-sea-food-webs/
https://futureoftheocean.wordpress.com/2018/04/17/untangling-the-mysteries-of-deep-sea-food-webs/
https://prezi.com/ee3p34lhwvo6/the-deep-sea-food-web/
https://insightmaker.com/insight/59717/Deep-Sea-Food-Web
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2016.00245/full
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2017.2116
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/19/science/deep-sea-food-web.html