Recent evidence has also suggested these photophores may detect light. As shrimp migrate to shallow waters, where downwelling light is present, the photophores turn on to mimic the light and help the shrimp camouflage themselves from predators. Scientists believe the photophores play an important role in camouflage, helping the shrimp hide. It was very cool to see that the organs might actually be adapted to the depth at which they are living, as well as the habitat." "We wanted to understand why there was so much diversity. "We have this one family of deep-sea shrimp, but they all have remarkable and unique variations of light organs. This research begins to shine a light on how photophores have evolved, but many questions still remain. This research also revealed that the species that live in the deepest waters have evolved to have no photophores at all. The shrimps' light organs, called photophores, vary in size, quantity and structure and some seem to be correlated with the habitat and depth at which they reside and vertically migrate within the water column. Scientists estimate that we’ve only explored 5 percent of the ocean.FIU marine scientist Heather Bracken-Grissom and her graduate student Charles Golightly collaborated with a team of researchers to trace the evolutionary history of a family of deep-sea shrimp, the Sergestidae. Oysters, crabs, and many birds like great herons and egrets live in estuaries. Estuaries are areas where rivers and oceans meet and have a mix of saltwater and freshwater. Other ocean habitats aren’t actually in the ocean, such as estuaries. Sea lions, whales, shore birds, and other ocean animals make meals of the smaller critters that hide in the leaves. These large, brown, rubbery plants have hollow, globe-shaped growths on the leaves called pneumatocysts that help the plants rise to the surface. Kelp forests found along the coastlines of the Pacific and Antarctic Oceans also provide food and shelter for marine life. And corals themselves are animals! They grab food from the water using tiny tentacle-like arms. Animals such as seahorses, clownfish, and sea turtles all live on coral reefs. In fact, corals reefs have been called the rainforests of the sea because of the wide variety of animals found there. After thousands of years, this becomes a complex structure called a coral reef that provides food and shelter for many kinds of ocean animals. When tiny animals called polyps die, their skeletons harden so other polyps can live on top of them. These regions are called habitats.Ĭoral reefs are one type of habitat. Temperature, ocean depth, and distance from the shore determine the types of plants and animals living in an area of the ocean. Bigger algae like seaweed and kelp also grow in the ocean and provide food and shelter for marine animals. Through photosynthesis, they produce about half of the oxygen that humans and other land-dwelling creatures breathe. Most are tiny algae called phytoplankton-and these microscopic plants have a big job. It’s as long as two school buses! Dolphins, porpoises, and sea lions are also ocean-dwelling mammals. The largest animal ever to live on Earth is an ocean mammal called the blue whale. Big fish swim through these waters too, such as great white sharks, manta rays, and ocean sunfish. Sea animals like zooplankton are so small you can see them only with a microscope. Some of the smallest animals on Earth can be found in the ocean. The most common vertebrate (an animal with a backbone) on Earth is the bristlemouth, a tiny ocean fish that glows in the dark and has needlelike fangs. Scientists think that up to 91 percent of marine species have not yet been identified but there could be as many as 700,000 of them! Most-95 percent-are invertebrates, animals that don’t have a backbone, such as jellyfish and shrimp.
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