Aug 10 2010
Teeming With Life: Oceans Of Antarctica
Tiny at only one hundredth of an inch long, the animal that chooses to live the farthest south is a pink mite. Fungi and algae are what the arachnid uses for its own sustenance.Imagine the delight a scientist from Hawaii felt when he found the pink mite living a mere 309 miles from the South Pole. This same scientist found lichens growing 266 miles from the Pole, which is the nearest any living thing has ever been found.
One popular magazine states that only insects and relatives of insects live permanently in Antarctica. Although your eye can’t see them, around 56 species of arthropods have been found there. The biggest is visible. It’s about the size of a horsefly and is a wingless fly. The animals reanimate when the air reaches temperatures above thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit. They are asleep during Antarctica’s long, hard winter. You will find info on Antarctic cruises by visiting that site.
A huge conglomerate of living creatures fills the waters surrounding Antarctica. They range in size from microscopic to the biggest on this planet. At one point, scientists used a steel chamber to access the world beneath the water. It measured 6 by 4 feet in size. As they took turns, the scientists watched the sea life around them through six windows. They could even hear the life beneath the waters because they installed a hydrophone.
Though there weren’t a lot of fish to be seen, there was a jelly fish that sported tentacles of up to thirty feet in length. The chamber did attract the attention of local seals, who surfaced at a nearby ice hole and looked at the chamber itself. Scientists could hear them chirp, beep, buzz and whistle through the hydrophone. This was an underwater racket one scientist hadn’t heard previously.
Weddell seals are typically thought to navigate and communicate using those series of sounds.The navigation theory makes a lot of sense when you consider finding food and air in the darkness of the Antarctic. Seal sounds are being investigated. There are some sounds that we, as humans, can’t even detect because they are beyond our capabilities. If you are in search of info don’t forget to view this resource best Antarctic cruise.
It’s still unknown the method by which the sounds are made by the seals.Underwater finds the seals with sealed nostrils and mouths. Weddell seals have been recorded diving up to 1500 feet in depth. This is the farthest any mammal has ever been officially recorded as diving. Their lung capacity is also great, one seal waiting a half hour before needing to emerge from the water.One zoologist was lucky enough to get a sample of a mother seal’s milk. Seal milk has a much higher fat ratio than human milk does. This is one of the reasons that baby seals can gain weight more quickly than any other mammal. In the space of a month and a half, a baby seal can grow fourfold.
Scientists dressed in frogman suits, were able to check out the seas round Antarctica. They even found red, among other colored, seaweed growing on the sea floor. Other species included five foot words, four foot sponges, and starfish that had both red and white coloration on it, making Antarctica the most interesting place to find new life.
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