As we travel the
shelf off the west coast in our tireless quest of the deep sea for
north pacific hake and Humboldt squid, we have met many sophisticated
and diverse critters. We have come across all sorts of life from
larval fish to ctenophores to chaetognaths to snow crab zoea to shrimp
parasites to juvenile octopus and squid (my favorite!). It is
amazing to think that the deep ocean – a place that few have really
seen - has such an amazing array of life. As we take up new net tows
for analyzing, one of my main jobs has been sorting the different
organisms for our density-titration experiments.
![]() |
MEEP that’s a lot! Photo by Emily Markowitz |
In my humble
opinion, the neatest organisms we have come across is this amphipod…
![]() |
RHHHHHAAAAAAA! ATTTAAAACCCKKKKKKK!!!! Photo by Emily Markowitz |
Does she look
familiar? She might… the amphipod or a close relative of the
amphipod above in the Phronima sp. is said to be the
inspiration for James Cameron’s Alien in the movie “Aliens,”
1986. I can understand why they chose this critter! Amphipods are
incredibly hardy, lively and have fast-snatching claws so they can
prey on smaller invertebrates and amphipods (as well as decaying
material). For more info, check out:
http://arthropoda.wordpress.com/2009/12/10/did-phronima-inspire-the-design-of-the-alien-queen/
and http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090605/
The funny thing
about this inspiration is that, while the Aliens on the screen are so
big… This Phronima was only 27 mm in length! Now imagine
that most other amphipods are much smaller and many can’t really be
seen by the naked eye!
But honestly, the
coolest thing about this gal is her relationship with another deep
sea organism, the tunicate.
Bet you can’t find me! Photo by Emily Markowitz |
Oh, OK. Fine then. You got me! Welcome to my tunicate home! Photo by Emily Markowitz |
They have a
parasitic relationship which is apparently very common among these
two species. In it, the female amphipod finds a free floating
tunicate and devours the inside tissue. She uses it as a home to lay
her eggs. The orange dots in the walls of the tunicate are her
developing young’ins!
This is just one of
the interesting organisms we have pulled up in our net tows.
More later!
Em
chenlina20160701
ReplyDeletecoach factory outlet
ralph lauren outlet
hollister clothing
vans shoes sale
oakley canada
kate spade handbags
basketball shoes
jordan retro 3
mont blanc pens
true religion outlet
coach outlet store online
true religion
louis vuitton bags
michael kors outlet
fitflops sale clearance
jordan retro
adidas yeezy 350
toms shoes
oakley vault
kobe 9
air jordan 13
coach outlet
kate spade
coach outlet
gucci outlet
tory burch handbags
adidas originals
louis vuitton
cheap ray ban sunglasses
replica watches
louboutin shoes
cheap jordans
timberland boots
insanity workout
hollister clothing
michael kors outlet
christian louboutin outlet
coach factory outlet
louis vuitton purses
ray bans
as