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Water is the medium of the oceans, the medium which carries all the substances and elements involved in the marine biogeochemical cycles. Water as found in nature almost always includes dissolved substances, so water has been described as the "universal solvent" for its ability to dissolve so many substances.
The biomass of the abyssal zone actually increases near the seafloor as most of the decomposing material and decomposers rest on the seabed. [9] The composition of the abyssal plain depends on the depth of the sea floor. Above 4000 meters the seafloor usually consists of calcareous shells of foraminifera, zooplankton, and phytoplankton.
The deep sea is broadly defined as the ocean depth where light begins to fade, at an approximate depth of 200 m (660 ft) or the point of transition from continental shelves to continental slopes. [1] [2] Conditions within the deep sea are a combination of low temperatures, darkness, and high pressure. [3]
The primary decomposer of litter in many ecosystems is fungi. [11] [12] Unlike bacteria, which are unicellular organisms and are decomposers as well, most saprotrophic fungi grow as a branching network of hyphae. Bacteria are restricted to growing and feeding on the exposed surfaces of organic matter, but fungi can use their hyphae to penetrate ...
It is uncommon to detect deep scattering layers below 1000m. Until recently, sonar has been the predominant method for studying the mesopelagic. [46] The Malaspina Circumnavigation Expedition was a Spanish-led scientific quest in 2011 to gain a better understanding of the state of the ocean and the diversity in the deep oceans. [49]
The bathypelagic zone or bathyal zone (from Greek βαθύς (bathýs), deep) is the part of the open ocean that extends from a depth of 1,000 to 4,000 m (3,300 to 13,000 ft) below the ocean surface. It lies between the mesopelagic above and the abyssopelagic below.
The sea pig, a deep water sea cucumber, is the only echinoderm that uses legged locomotion. A benthopelagic and bioluminescent swimming sea cucumber , 3200 metres deep It is held by some scientists that the radiation of echinoderms was responsible for the Mesozoic Marine Revolution .
Prime decomposers are bacteria or fungi, though larger scavengers also play an important role in decomposition if the body is accessible to insects, mites and other animals. Additionally, [ 3 ] soil animals are considered key regulators of decomposition at local scales but their role at larger scales is unresolved.