Deep-sea community
An assemblage of organisms living in the deep ocean, where low light, high pressure, and limited food shape ecological relationships.
Deep sea: The ocean region below the depth reached by sunlight sufficient for photosynthesis. Its darkness, pressure, and remoteness define the community’s physical setting.
Chemosynthesis: The production of organic compounds using energy from chemical reactions rather than sunlight. It supports communities around vents and seeps independently of surface photosynthesis.
Whale fall: A dead whale carcass that creates a localized, long-lasting food resource on the seafloor. Its decomposition supports successive communities in an otherwise food-limited habitat.
Biological pump: The ocean processes that transport carbon from surface waters into the deep sea. Sinking organic matter feeds deep communities while moving carbon away from the atmosphere.
Marine snow: A continual fall of organic particles from surface waters toward the deep ocean floor. This sinking material supplies much of the energy available to deep-sea organisms.
Bioluminescence: The production and emission of light by living organisms through chemical reactions. Deep-sea species use light for communication, prey attraction, camouflage, and defense.
Hydrothermal vent ecosystem: A biological community sustained by chemical energy at a deep-sea hydrothermal vent. It is a clear example of animal life based on chemosynthetic production.
Deep-sea mining: The extraction of mineral resources from deep-ocean floors and seamounts. Mining can disturb habitats whose organisms recover slowly and remain poorly documented.
Oceanic zones: A classification of ocean waters by depth, light, and distance from shore. Zonation distinguishes deep habitats with different light and food conditions.
Hydrothermal vent: A seafloor fissure that releases geothermally heated, mineral-rich water. Vent ecosystems concentrate chemical energy and support dense, distinctive assemblages.