Project G. L. A. D. La Habra City School District California Ocean Habitats Level 4 Idea Pages

Angler Fish Expert Group

Adult deep sea angler fish live in the bathypelagic or midnight zone of the ocean. That zone is approximately 3,000 to 13,000 feet down. The angler fish lives mostly in the Atlantic and Antarctic Oceans. Adult angler fish release their eggs which float to the ocean surface where the eggs become young fish called fry. The fry feed on plankton. When the fry begin to mature, they move to the deeper levels of the oceans.

The female deep sea anglers are fierce predators of other small and juvenile fish. They have powerful jaws filled with sharp teeth. Their distending stomachs allow them to swallow prey larger than they are. Some of their diet consists of dogfish, skate, cod, and sandeels.

Because deep sea angler fish live where there is no light they use bioluminescence to catch their prey. Bioluminescence is caused by millions of light -producing bacteria inside the fish. A spine of the females’ dorsal fin acts as a fishing rod tipped with fleshy “bait” which glows. Other fish are attracted to the bait and then get eaten by the angler. The adult male angler is very small and attaches himself to the larger female by biting and, eventually, fusing to her. He remains a permanent parasite on the female taking his food from her bloodstream. His eyes and internal organs eventually disappear.

The body of the sea cucumber is soft, elongated, leathery, muscular, and is covered in spines. Some sea cucumbers are dark green, however most species are black or dark red-brown. Five double rows of tube feet run along the body and are used for crawling along the sea bed or anchoring to a rock. Sea cucumbers are decomposers that eat decaying matter or plankton that float in the water or in the sand. The sea cucumber has ten to thirty tentacles around its mouth it uses to sweep in water or food. Sea Cucumbers have bilateral symmetry and radial symmetry. Bilateral symmetry means that you can cut them down the centre and end up with two exact halves.  Radial symmetry means that an organism can be divided into equal pieces along many planes.

Sea cucumbers have many adaptations. Sea cucumbers can expel most of their internal organs to confuse predators. They later grow their organs back within a few weeks. Some sea cucumbers’ bodies contain toxins that can deter attackers. Some sea cucumbers have soft spikes covering their body, which may trick predators into thinking they are hard spikes. Sea turtles, crustaceans, many fish, and people eat sea cucumbers.

Bacteria lives near deep ocean vents, Harsh anaerobic (no oxygen) environments

Microscopic one-celled bacteria

Eubacteria

Characteristics: One-celled

Examples: Blue-green algae

Protista

Characteristics:

Most are microscopic, Absorb, ingest, or use photosynthesis to get food

Photosynthesize food- makes its own food

radial symmetry, mouth surrounded by tentacles with stinging cells (cnidocytes)

free swimming and stationary, captures prey with tentacles

Examples:

Jellyfish, Sea Anemones, Coral, Longest animal in the world- 120 feet long jellyfish

Segmented Body, Complete digestive tract with two ends, Body- tube within a tube

Soft bodies, strong muscular foot—used for movement and grasping

Some protected by shells

Examples: Snails, clams, mussels, squid, abalone, octopus

Phylum Arthropoda

Characteristics: 10,000 species

Segmented body covered by exoskeleton, Must molt to be able to grow, jointed legs

No symmetry, Many colors, No brains

Stationary--Sits in one place most of its life with food brought to it

Covered by skin with holes (small pores) and a few larger openings

Pumps water through body (canals), squirts out top,

Spicules act as a skeleton gives it structure

spiny skinned, no central brain, radial symmetry, 5-part symmetry

No distinct front/back just top/bottom, Tube feet, Some stationary, slow-moving

90% of the animals on the deep-ocean floor

Hair, fur, produce milk, Females give birth to live young, Specialized teeth

Warm-blooded- controls own body temperature (endothermic), solid bones

Examples: Humans, Sperm Whale, Otter, Dolphin, Seal

Class Reptilia

Characteristics: 6,000 species

cold-blooded (can't regulate their body temperature)

skin covered in scales or scutes (patches of bony or horny skin)

legs are short or entirely absent, most are oviparous (they lay eggs)

bony fish, cold-blooded, Excellent smell, acute eyesight

Special Adaptation to remain buoyant- swim bladder (gas-filled chamber)

Breathe without swimming by moving operculum (flap covering gills)

Paired fins, many teeth, numerous vertebrae, scales

Examples: Angler Fish, Blue Tuna, Salmon

Class Chodrichthyes

Characteristics: Flexible skeleton, Cartilage instead of bone

Good predators, excellent smell, bad eyesight, Lateral Line, senses movement nearby

Wings for flight, feathers, and a beak rather than teeth

Bones and skull are very thin and light

Examples: Seagulls, Pelicans

Class Amphibia

Characteristics: Four-legged, soft-skinned, Spend time on land and in water (lays eggs)

Examples: Frogs, Toads, Salamanders
California Ocean Habitats

Found Poetry

Adapted from National Geographic (Oct. 1977 & Oct. 1996)
Oases of Life in the Cold Abyss

As we dive to the deep ocean depths, we observe shimmering water streams up past giant tubeworms, never before seen by man. A white crab scuttles over lava encrusted with limpets, while a pink fish basks in the warmth. Inside the research submersible Alvin we watch in amazement. We have dived a mile and a half into the near-freezing ocean depths of the Pacific. We hover over an incredible community living around a warm sea-floor spring.

We came to investigate active hydrothermal vents in the deep sea. The unknown creatures and dense communities of life we have discovered living at these vents, like lush oases in a sunless desert, are a phenomenon totally new to science.

Peering through the porthole of the submersible reveals eccentric beauties, as the teetering spires of a sulfide chimney and spiny sea stars combing currents for food. In the pitch-black world of a deep-sea vent, life is driven by chemosynthesis: Micro-organisms like bacteria convert the chemicals from vents into body mass. Hordes of translucent shrimp graze on these microorganisms.

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Project GLAD

California Ocean Habitats
Home/ School Connection
Tell your parents about the Native American legend you learned about today.

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Project GLAD

California Ocean Habitats
Home/ School Connection
Look in your kitchen cupboards. List ten items that come from the ocean.
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Project GLAD

California Ocean Habitats
Home/ School Connection
Is there anyone in your family who has visited the beach? What did they see?
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Date: _____________

Project GLAD

California Ocean Habitats
Home/ School Connection
Describe the different ocean zones to someone in your family. What was one thing they found the most interesting?

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