Scientific Illustration

orbiculator:

Stages described in the previous video post are depicted here in the form of an illustration.

Illustrated by Jen Christiansen (whale fall illustration) and Catherine Wilson (species inset illustrations).

Nothing ever goes to waste. Except fossils maybe, but then again they make paleontologist giddy as eff.

Whale fall communities of the deep sea - the Sulphophilic (sulphur loving) stage by Michael Rothman

“The time when the protagonists of stage of the opportunists begin to wane, because they consume all organic matter, is mainly a function of the size of the carcass and large cetaceans for the second stage can last up to several years. At this point the bones that remain on the bottom can still be exploited by new organisms that use energy as a source of fat contained in them: as you know the infamous whale hunters, in fact, up to 60% of the bones of a whale is made of lipids. The third stage Begins in which the bones, still rich in lipids, are attacked by anaerobic bacteria that transform the sulphate present in seawater in sulfides. The sulphides lead to the appearance, around the carcass, a new food chain based chemosynthetic, consists of both carpets of chemoautotrophic bacteria, both from molluscs with chemiosimbionts. The community of the sulphophilic stage is characterized by a wealth of species, many of which are abundant in the immediate vicinity of the bones, but rare in neighboring habitats.

After this stage researchers think that the bones can form a reef where the currents undergo a minor slowdown of friction with respect to the sea bed and therefore are a preferential area for filter feeders: crinoids, brittle stars and cnidarians have in fact been found by Japanese researchers on a carcass sank artificially. The reef stage ends the ecological succession.”

Text is a slightly edited Google translation of the source.

See also: Stage 1 & Stage 2

Whale fall communities of the deep sea - the stage of opportunists by Michael Rothman

“After the removal of the flesh, lasting from a few days to a few years, the stage of enrichment opportunists begins, in which the bones and sediment surrounding the skeleton, rich in organic matter, are colonized by a community of polychaetes, molluscs , crustaceans and other invertebrates characterized by high density and low diversity. Among these is a particular polychaete, the family of Siboglinidae, said Osedax. Osedax, from the Latin os-(oxo)-and edax (eater) is equipped with a system of root like structures made of epithelial tissue that penetrate the bone and, inside the roots, endosimbiotic bacteria that degrade the fat present in bones, feeding on it and turn feeding the polychaete worms. Osedax characteristic for the plume of reddish gills exposed to ocean currents from which extracts the oxygen necessary for its aerobic metabolism, so it is surprisingly free of both mouth of the digestive tract.”

Text is a slightly edited Google translation of the source.

See also: Stage 1 & Stage 3

Whale fall communities of the deep sea - The stage of scavengers by Michael Rothman 

“In the first stage the soft tissues of the carcass are removed by scavengers, such as sharks, hagfish, and dozens of other species of invertebrates and vertebrates, capable of removing up to 60 kg per day of soft tissues.” 

Text is a slightly edited Google translation of the source.

See also: Stage 2 & Stage 3

biomedicalephemera:

Diaphanous Hatchetfish - Sternoptyx diaphana

There are approximately 40 species of marine hatchetfish, all with similar shapes, but varying in size from less than a silver dollar to almost six inches long. The upward-facing (but non-telescopic) eyes and downward-slanting mouth are characteristic of the Sternoptychinae family.

Like many deep-sea creatures, the hatchetfish have bioluminescent photophores on their body - unlike most other deep-sea creatures, though, the hatchetfish directly utilizes their bioluminescence in how they disguise themselves.

The low levels of light that they give off on the bottom half of their body reflect against their silvery scales, giving predators below them the impression that the only thing above is the sky (even if the sky might be thousands of meters above). Complimentary to that camouflage, the upper half of the hatchetfish is more darkly colored, giving predators above the impression that there’s nothing but open ocean below them. This type of camouflage is called “counterillumination”.

Résultats des campagnes scientifiques accomplies sur son yacht par Albert Ier, prince souverain de Monaco. Albert I, Prince of Monaco, 1911.

(via mudwerks)

factstofigures:

Artist: Peter Stebbing

Russell, F. S. and Yonge, M. (1975). The Seas: An introduction to the study of life in the sea. New York: Frederick Warne & Co Inc.

Female Ceratias holboelli anglerfish and an attached male by American Museum of Natural History on Flickr.

factstofigures:

Caption: Vent sea anemones: a large, so far uncollected and therefore undescribed species, whose tentacles, 1 m in length, are orientated into the current.

Artist: Violaine Martin

Gage, J.D. and Tyler, P.A. (1991). Deep Sea Biology: A natural history of organisms at the deep-sea floor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Linophryne arborifera by American Museum of Natural History on Flickr.

A model of the anglerfish Linophryne arborifera on loan to the American Museum of Natural History from the British Museum (Natural History) in 1933

factstofigures:

Caption: Artist’s representation of the exploration by the submersible ‘Nautile’ of the hydrothermal vent community associated with ‘black smoker’ chimneys made up of precipitated sulphides, and the more diffuse, lower temperature flow from ‘white smokers’ surrounded by the tangled tubes of alvinellid worms.

Artist: Violaine Martin

Gage, J.D. and Tyler, P.A. (1991). Deep Sea Biology: A natural history of organisms at the deep-sea floor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.