How Deep Is it Where Deep Sea Fish Live?
Just how far below the ocean's surface do deep sea fish live?
As you could probably guess, the deep sea is the absolute lowest level of the ocean. You will find the deep sea at about 1800 meters below the surface of the water. In fact, you might even find in some areas that the deep sea extends even deeper.
Characteristics of the Deep Sea
Aside from being 1800 meters below the sea, there are other distinguishing features of the deep sea. Here is a list of some of the most basic traits of the ocean where it is deep enough for deep sea fish to live:
- Light does not come down into the deep sea. Therefore, any sort of plant or animal life that requires photosynthesis in order to survive cannot thrive there. This directly affects the type of sea life that live in that region.
- Temperatures at the bottom of the ocean are very cold, which also affects what type of organisms can survive at those levels. Since there is no sunlight getting into these places, the temperatures are even colder. Many of the characteristics of the deep sea are connected to one another.
- There is also a lot of pressure built up at the bottom of the ocean. Most of the deep sea is at pressure levels of 200 to 600 atmospheres. However, there is a wide range. Some parts of it only have 20 atmospheres of pressure and some have up to 1,000 atmospheres of pressure.
Types of Deep Sea Fish
There are only certain types of fish that can survive the rough conditions of the deep sea. Fish that live in this environment include:
- Flashlight fish
- Cookiecutter shark
- Bristlemouths
- Anglerfish
- Viperfish
Characteristics of Deep Sea Fish
The fish need to be of a certain type to really survive in the deep sea conditions. Here are some of the shared characteristics of most deep sea living fish:
- They often have large, bright eyes. Think about that and it makes plenty of sense. Because of the darkness, they would not be able to see if there eyes were not large.
- They primarily feed off of organic matter that floats down from the higher layers of the ocean. Photosynthesis cannot occcur, so they cannot eat plant life. Of course, they also can eat one another.
- Sometimes they cannot see, despite their eyes that are adjusted to the environment. Therefore, many of them have feelers so that they can find their prey.
- Another usage of their feelers is to find mates. They need to reproduce to keep their species alive, but if they cannot see, then they need feelers to find mates for reproduction.
- A lot of the bottom dwellers tend to have health problems. They are often smaller than other fish, because they often have such problems finding food. Furthermore, scientists have found that a lot of them tend to lose their bone structure and are not as solid as fish at other levels of the ocean.
Only a small number of fish species have these shared characteristics and can thrive as deep sea fish.