1 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:06,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:15,080 Speaker 2: Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind. My name 3 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:16,160 Speaker 2: is Robert Lamb. 4 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:18,919 Speaker 3: And I am Joe McCormick, and we're back with part 5 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:22,439 Speaker 3: two in a series we are calling Hunters of the 6 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:27,680 Speaker 3: Dark Ocean, focusing on predators that operate in deep marine 7 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:32,360 Speaker 3: environments and folks, full disclosure if we sound like we're 8 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 3: broadcasting from the bottom of the sea ourselves today. I 9 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:37,600 Speaker 3: think Rob and I are both maybe operating at lower 10 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:38,720 Speaker 3: power than usual. 11 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:41,640 Speaker 4: I don't know. Do do you have a story here, Rob? 12 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:44,839 Speaker 2: Oh, just that I'm battling a cold and as of 13 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 2: right now, all the cold medicine is like firing at 14 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:48,960 Speaker 2: full throttle. 15 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:52,440 Speaker 4: Oh nice, So we time to just right, Yeah, time. 16 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:54,960 Speaker 2: To just write. It may wear off halfway through and 17 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:57,680 Speaker 2: you need a listener and get to get to appreciate 18 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:01,640 Speaker 2: like a slightly gravelly sexier voice for me as we 19 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 2: discussed various slimy creatures that live in the depths. 20 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:09,080 Speaker 3: Yeah, so I was up a lot last night. It's 21 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:13,120 Speaker 3: just childcare related lack of sleep. 22 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:14,560 Speaker 4: But hey, here we are. 23 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:18,400 Speaker 3: We're coming to you once again, folks. So brief recap 24 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:22,360 Speaker 3: on part one of this series. In the last episode, 25 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:26,959 Speaker 3: we kicked things off talking about the science news story 26 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:29,280 Speaker 3: that originally inspired us to look at this topic of 27 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:34,040 Speaker 3: deep ocean predators. That was a paper published last November 28 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:37,480 Speaker 3: in the journal Systematics and Biodiversity by Weston at All 29 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:43,160 Speaker 3: documenting a newly discovered genus and species of predatory crustation 30 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:48,080 Speaker 3: which is found in the Atacama Trench in the southeastern Pacific. 31 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:51,720 Speaker 3: The species was given the name del Sabella common chaka 32 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:55,160 Speaker 3: the Sugary Darkness. As we talked about, and oh boy, 33 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 3: that really sent us down a rabbit hole of scrutinizing 34 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:00,960 Speaker 3: bizarre deep sea amphib body forms. 35 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:02,480 Speaker 4: It was a good time. Yes. 36 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:07,440 Speaker 3: We also talked a bit about the general challenges facing organisms, 37 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:10,640 Speaker 3: including predators that live in the deepest parts of the ocean, 38 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:16,320 Speaker 3: not just pressure, darkness, and cold, but also unique resource challenges. 39 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:19,360 Speaker 3: Since sunlight doesn't reach the bottom of the ocean, it 40 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 3: is generally devoid of the primary photosynthetic organisms that form 41 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:27,519 Speaker 3: the base of the food chain at the surface. Instead, 42 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 3: the deep ocean food chain tends to build off of 43 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 3: a couple of things. First, chemosynthetic organisms like bacteria and 44 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:39,720 Speaker 3: archaea that feed off of hydrogen sulfide and other compounds 45 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 3: from geological sources like hydrothermal vents, and then second dead 46 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:48,600 Speaker 3: organic material and detritus that rains down from the sun 47 00:02:48,639 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 3: touched ocean above. This is sometimes called marine snow. It 48 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:58,360 Speaker 3: includes everything from fecal matter and tiny dead organisms sinking down, 49 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:01,640 Speaker 3: things sinking down of every ape and size. And we 50 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:06,360 Speaker 3: also talked about the fascinating temporary ecosystems that spring up 51 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:09,760 Speaker 3: around a big payload that falls from above, like a 52 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:12,639 Speaker 3: whale carcass when it hits the bottom and the abyssle 53 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:13,639 Speaker 3: or hatel zone. 54 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 4: Yeah. 55 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:16,360 Speaker 2: And one of the things too that we were driving 56 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:17,959 Speaker 2: home in that episode, and we're going to continue to 57 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:24,240 Speaker 2: stress here and subsequent episodes, is that there is a 58 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:29,320 Speaker 2: great deal of biodiversity in these depths, and it basically 59 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:33,359 Speaker 2: runs opposite of what the prevailing theory was at one 60 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:36,240 Speaker 2: point that you would just see a steady decline in 61 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:39,560 Speaker 2: biodiversity down to nothing and there would just be no 62 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:42,480 Speaker 2: life in the ocean past certain depths. And we know 63 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:45,040 Speaker 2: that's not the case now, in part due to things 64 00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 2: like the marine snow, the whale falls and those hydrothermal 65 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 2: environments as well, but also just in general, creatures that 66 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 2: have evolved to thrive at depths that we used to 67 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 2: think we're maybe just not possible. 68 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 3: But anyway, back to recapping part one. After we talked 69 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:07,600 Speaker 3: about those general issues and talked about the predatory amphipod, 70 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 3: we looked at a totally different order of oceanic predators, 71 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:16,760 Speaker 3: known as sciphonophores, and we discussed the fascinating way that 72 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:20,720 Speaker 3: their bodies are put together, the versions of these organisms 73 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:22,800 Speaker 3: that are as long as a whale as thin as 74 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:26,240 Speaker 3: a rail, catching prey in a sort of net made 75 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:29,560 Speaker 3: from their own bodies. And then we discussed how, despite 76 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 3: most sightings of siphonophores occurring at less extreme depths, Rob 77 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:38,000 Speaker 3: you turned up some research that included probable sightings of 78 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 3: predatory siphonophores at Haitel depths down within the Mariana Trench. 79 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:46,160 Speaker 3: That's right, and so today we're back to discuss more. 80 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:48,640 Speaker 2: Now before we jump back in with the predators, though, 81 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:52,279 Speaker 2: I want to just quickly discuss an example of a 82 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:56,760 Speaker 2: scavenging organism in the mid depths. A polyget worm called 83 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:03,279 Speaker 2: pobious messis, or simply the balloon worm as it's more practical, 84 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 2: it's more common name, because it does look like a balloon. 85 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:09,520 Speaker 2: It has a small body, it's like one point five 86 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:12,760 Speaker 2: inches or thirty six millimeters long, and it kind of 87 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:15,719 Speaker 2: looks like I've seen it described as like a plastic bag, 88 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:20,680 Speaker 2: like a plastic bag that is filled with fluid. It's 89 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:25,960 Speaker 2: very translucent looking. And basically that marine snow. All of 90 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:29,680 Speaker 2: those bits of flesh, fish poop, and other organic detritus 91 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:33,640 Speaker 2: that just drifts down from the depths above. That's literally 92 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:37,200 Speaker 2: all this thing eats. And these things are quite abundant 93 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 2: according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. They play 94 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 2: a key role in cycling nutrients like carbon from the 95 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:47,880 Speaker 2: ocean's surface down into its depths. And also, no doubt 96 00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:51,719 Speaker 2: these are the prey animals for various predators in the 97 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:52,440 Speaker 2: depths as well. 98 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:55,680 Speaker 3: Yeah, and that lines up with something we talked about 99 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:59,240 Speaker 3: in part one, where in these deep habitats a lot 100 00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 3: of the prey species being scavengers. So again we got this, 101 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:07,320 Speaker 3: you know, the kind of marine debris, organic debris of 102 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:10,280 Speaker 3: various kinds raining down from above. Then you've got the 103 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:13,480 Speaker 3: animals that scavenge off of that dead material, and then 104 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:17,360 Speaker 3: you've got the predators that come and eat those scavengers, 105 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:20,360 Speaker 3: and then perhaps also you may have predators that eat 106 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:23,600 Speaker 3: those predators. But certainly you have lots of predators that 107 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:26,600 Speaker 3: eat the scavenging things, scavenging things like amphipods that we 108 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 3: talked about last time. So there is an animal that 109 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:32,880 Speaker 3: I want to bring up, a deep sea predator that 110 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:36,400 Speaker 3: I came across just kind of randomly, that I wanted 111 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:39,159 Speaker 3: to focus on for a bit, because yes, it looks weird, 112 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:42,120 Speaker 3: but it looks weird in a way that is biologically 113 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 3: connected to some themes we've been exploring and will continue 114 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:49,120 Speaker 3: to explore some more. And that is an abyssle predator 115 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:53,480 Speaker 3: known as Hypnop's mead ee or the gridi fish. So 116 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 3: that genus and species is spelled ip and ops and 117 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:01,600 Speaker 3: the species is mead. I I want to give a 118 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:04,280 Speaker 3: shout out to the place where I learned about this fish. 119 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:09,440 Speaker 3: It was in a mission log hosted on THEAA Ocean 120 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:14,559 Speaker 3: Exploration Hub from May twenty seventeen by an oceanographer named 121 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:18,680 Speaker 3: Astroid Lightner at the time of the University of Hawaii 122 00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:20,720 Speaker 3: at Manoa. I looked her up, and I believe she's 123 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:24,800 Speaker 3: now affiliated with Oregon State University. But in this post, 124 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:27,920 Speaker 3: Lightner is talking about what she and a group of 125 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:33,400 Speaker 3: colleagues found during one particular exploration dive in the Central 126 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:39,720 Speaker 3: Pacific Basin, specifically a soft sedimented abyssle plane around what's 127 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:43,080 Speaker 3: called the Clipperton Fracture Zone at a depth of about 128 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:46,600 Speaker 3: forty four hundred meters. And just want to note that 129 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:50,160 Speaker 3: the overall expedition here, so this was one dive on 130 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:53,360 Speaker 3: a larger expedition. The overall expedition was called Mountains and 131 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:58,280 Speaker 3: the Deep exploring the Central Pacific Basin. And one cool 132 00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:01,320 Speaker 3: connection here is that she's mentioning some of the other 133 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:04,080 Speaker 3: scientists involved in this dive, and one of them is 134 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:07,160 Speaker 3: a previous stuff to blow your mind guest Diva Aimon, 135 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:09,440 Speaker 3: who if Yeah, if you want to check out an 136 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:12,520 Speaker 3: interview that we did with a marine biologist who studies 137 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:14,800 Speaker 3: the deep sea, you should look up our episode with 138 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:18,200 Speaker 3: her in the back catalog. It's got to be well, 139 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:21,000 Speaker 3: probably five or six years ago now. But yeah, Diva 140 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:22,920 Speaker 3: Amon spelled Amo. 141 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:26,320 Speaker 2: N Oh, Yeah, she was great. The only guest we've 142 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:29,080 Speaker 2: had on the show I think that has actually personally 143 00:08:29,200 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 2: been personally been down into the deep ocean. 144 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:34,839 Speaker 3: I remember that being a good episode. I enjoyed talking 145 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:37,559 Speaker 3: to her. But anyway, in this post, talking about this 146 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:41,280 Speaker 3: dive in the Pacific, Lightner is describing a survey of 147 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:44,960 Speaker 3: organisms that these researchers did over this kind of vast, 148 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:50,880 Speaker 3: relatively flat, sedimented patch of seafloor. Now, in the last episode, 149 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:53,959 Speaker 3: we were talking a good bit about the Hadel zone, 150 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:58,040 Speaker 3: like the deepest forty five percent or so of the 151 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:01,240 Speaker 3: ocean by depth if you're just looking vertically. Of course, 152 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:04,960 Speaker 3: the Haitel zone is limited to ocean trenches, so that's 153 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:09,320 Speaker 3: a small minority of the ocean's horizontal surface. Most of 154 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:14,040 Speaker 3: the ocean floor is not nearly that deep, and it's 155 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:16,280 Speaker 3: what we would normally call the abyssal zone. That's what 156 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:18,160 Speaker 3: we're looking at here is the abysstal zone, so not 157 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:21,160 Speaker 3: deep deep in the trenches, but still very deep. It's 158 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:24,080 Speaker 3: just the floor of most of the regular part of 159 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:27,640 Speaker 3: the ocean. And talking about this abyssal plane, Lightner says 160 00:09:27,679 --> 00:09:31,520 Speaker 3: that these habitats have long been assumed to be what 161 00:09:31,559 --> 00:09:36,120 Speaker 3: she calls biologically monotonous. I interpret that to mean you 162 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:39,679 Speaker 3: would expect to find roughly the same distribution of species 163 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:42,720 Speaker 3: all across them. But then she says, you know, really 164 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:44,680 Speaker 3: that was just sort of a guess. There were not 165 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:48,840 Speaker 3: enough observations of these habitats to know what life forms 166 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:52,080 Speaker 3: were there and if there were major variations in species 167 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:56,200 Speaker 3: throughout the space. So Lightner says that during this one 168 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:59,400 Speaker 3: dive that she's talking about the most abundant fishes they 169 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:03,280 Speaker 3: found on the seafloor. Here were the fish that I 170 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:06,079 Speaker 3: mentioned at the top of this segment, I knops Meade 171 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:10,040 Speaker 3: or the gridye fish. This was named after a twentieth 172 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:14,200 Speaker 3: century American ichthyologist and named it Giles Mead. And she 173 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:18,120 Speaker 3: says that they cataloged seven of these fish during one 174 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:22,480 Speaker 3: dive exploring the soft sediment, and that they're actually pretty 175 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 3: easy to spot because of their huge, highly reflective eyes. 176 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:29,640 Speaker 4: Now you might be trying to picture them in your head. 177 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:33,280 Speaker 3: How reflective, How easy would these things be to spot? Well, Rob, 178 00:10:33,559 --> 00:10:35,480 Speaker 3: I want you to weigh in here after looking at 179 00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:36,960 Speaker 3: a picture in the outline. 180 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:40,559 Speaker 2: Oh wow, yes, that's rather distinctive. 181 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:45,200 Speaker 3: So the fish's body is long and tubel like with 182 00:10:45,559 --> 00:10:49,840 Speaker 3: dark pigmentation. It appears to be gliding along the ocean 183 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:53,160 Speaker 3: floor right over the top of the sediment, but on 184 00:10:53,559 --> 00:10:56,560 Speaker 3: the top of its head, So not really the front. 185 00:10:56,600 --> 00:10:59,320 Speaker 3: It's like right down on the top, it looks like 186 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:05,040 Speaker 3: somebody has scooped out two little lima bean shaped depressions 187 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:09,679 Speaker 3: in the fish's skull. And then so if you imagine 188 00:11:09,679 --> 00:11:12,520 Speaker 3: them together, like the flat sides of the lima bean 189 00:11:12,559 --> 00:11:15,680 Speaker 3: shapes are facing inward touching one another. So like put 190 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:17,640 Speaker 3: two lima beans right next to each other with the 191 00:11:17,679 --> 00:11:21,920 Speaker 3: flat sides together, and you scoop out that volume from 192 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:25,920 Speaker 3: the skull, and then you paint in the two scooped 193 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:29,560 Speaker 3: out regions with neon yellow glow in the dark paint. 194 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:32,199 Speaker 3: So it really does look like those toys I had 195 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:34,080 Speaker 3: when I was a kid, a little monster where you 196 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:35,480 Speaker 3: hold it up to the light bulb and then you 197 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:40,040 Speaker 3: turn the light off and it glows. Looks exactly like that. Now, 198 00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:43,480 Speaker 3: this little guy might not look especially threatening given the 199 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:46,319 Speaker 3: Lisa Frank eyes, or I don't know, maybe it does 200 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:48,600 Speaker 3: look more threatening. I guess I'm sort of reminded of 201 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:51,040 Speaker 3: some kind of movie poster. I can't remember exactly what 202 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:53,160 Speaker 3: it is, but there's a monster that has eyes like this, 203 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:58,120 Speaker 3: just big, you know, undifferentiated neon yellow spots. But whether 204 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:01,280 Speaker 3: or not it looks threatening to you, this actually is 205 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:06,000 Speaker 3: a predator eating small abyssle crustaceans. And while I think 206 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:09,520 Speaker 3: its biology is not fully understood, it seems that these 207 00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:14,760 Speaker 3: bony plate like neon bean cup eyes lack a lens 208 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:19,320 Speaker 3: and thus cannot resolve images. So it is seeing in 209 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:23,320 Speaker 3: a way, but it's probably not seeing images. Instead, these 210 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:26,720 Speaker 3: things are thought to only detect the presence or absence 211 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:30,200 Speaker 3: of light. They're more like light spots, and thus are 212 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:35,760 Speaker 3: probably designed by evolution to sense bioluminescence. 213 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:35,840 Speaker 4: From nearby prey. 214 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:39,680 Speaker 3: And I was thinking about this, and I think it's 215 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:44,960 Speaker 3: just so interesting the different ways that light as just 216 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:49,400 Speaker 3: a type of energy features throughout the trophic relationships. At 217 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:52,719 Speaker 3: the surface where there's plenty of sunlight versus at the 218 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:56,240 Speaker 3: bottom of the sea, light plays a role in the 219 00:12:56,280 --> 00:12:59,480 Speaker 3: food chain in both places, but those roles are so different. 220 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:04,640 Speaker 3: So the surface light plays the primary energy role at 221 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:07,520 Speaker 3: the base of the food chain. Light from the sun 222 00:13:07,559 --> 00:13:11,800 Speaker 3: powers photosynthesis and plants and other autotrophs, and that sets 223 00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:14,160 Speaker 3: off the chain of eating that goes all the way 224 00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:17,120 Speaker 3: up to the top predators. And then, in addition to 225 00:13:17,559 --> 00:13:21,040 Speaker 3: its role as the base energy input on the whole system, 226 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:25,960 Speaker 3: it also provides probably the most important type of information 227 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:31,280 Speaker 3: that fast moving animals use to survive and negotiate predation 228 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:34,640 Speaker 3: relationships from either side of the predator prey relationship. So 229 00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:37,880 Speaker 3: whether you're a predator or a prey animal on the surface, 230 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:42,040 Speaker 3: one of your main jobs is seeing other animals and 231 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:45,800 Speaker 3: in some cases avoiding being seen. It's all an information 232 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:49,600 Speaker 3: game based on reflected light from the sun deep at 233 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:51,960 Speaker 3: the bottom of the ocean. It seems that light is 234 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:55,520 Speaker 3: still a major energy input on the food chain because 235 00:13:55,520 --> 00:13:57,960 Speaker 3: of course it powers the food chain up above at 236 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:01,760 Speaker 3: the surface, which then at some point rains down as 237 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:04,800 Speaker 3: the marine snow or the whalefall for the scavengers at 238 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:07,600 Speaker 3: the bottom of the ocean. But there is also at 239 00:14:07,640 --> 00:14:10,040 Speaker 3: the bottom of the ocean a different energy input. You 240 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:13,280 Speaker 3: got the energy input from chemosynthetic organisms around like sea 241 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:17,280 Speaker 3: floor vents and things, and then also down in the 242 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:21,760 Speaker 3: abyssle or the hatel darkness. Light plays an important relationship 243 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:26,280 Speaker 3: in this information competition between predators and prey, but it's 244 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:29,840 Speaker 3: not reflected light from the sun that plays that role. 245 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:34,600 Speaker 3: It seems to be primarily bioluminescent light and the way 246 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:38,560 Speaker 3: that it contributes to that struggle for information advantage between 247 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:40,760 Speaker 3: predators and prey is a bit different. 248 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:44,680 Speaker 2: That's right. Yeah, it is that it's not a realm 249 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:47,320 Speaker 2: where there is no light, but the sort of like 250 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:50,520 Speaker 2: the rules of light have changed, the importance of light 251 00:14:50,560 --> 00:15:02,280 Speaker 2: has changed. And so I guess you could look at 252 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:04,440 Speaker 2: the grid eye fish here as being an example of 253 00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:08,040 Speaker 2: a case where evolution has just decided, you know, we 254 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:10,520 Speaker 2: can scale back on the eyes a little bit. We 255 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:14,000 Speaker 2: still need them, but we need them for just specific things. 256 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:17,160 Speaker 2: And the next example we're going to discuss is one 257 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:20,560 Speaker 2: that kind of goes in a different direction entirely with 258 00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:25,040 Speaker 2: the eyes. It really feels more like a scaling up 259 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:30,960 Speaker 2: but also a hyper specialization of its ocular equipment. 260 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:32,600 Speaker 4: Tell me more. 261 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:36,040 Speaker 2: So, I'm going to warn you that this creature's common 262 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:39,080 Speaker 2: name does sound a bit ridiculous, and it may earworm 263 00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:43,000 Speaker 2: you with a Beatles song. But we're talking about strawberry 264 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:47,640 Speaker 2: squid here. Strawberry squids forever so called for their red 265 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:51,240 Speaker 2: coloration as well as the little marks on their skin 266 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:54,120 Speaker 2: that really do look like the seeds of a strawberry. 267 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:55,400 Speaker 4: Oh, they so do. 268 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:57,320 Speaker 3: I mean, if you zoom in on the skin of 269 00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:00,520 Speaker 3: this thing, it's uncanny how much it looks like a strawberry. 270 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:03,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, because sometimes you know the naming of these creatures 271 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:05,280 Speaker 2: that it can be a bit off and just you 272 00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:07,880 Speaker 2: kind of have to squint a little bit to see 273 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:11,280 Speaker 2: it for yourself. But here's pretty spot on. Its scientific 274 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:16,560 Speaker 2: name is histiotouthis heteropsis, and the heteropsis gets more to 275 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:19,800 Speaker 2: the point here as it translates to different sight or 276 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:20,760 Speaker 2: different eye. 277 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:24,240 Speaker 4: Oh yes, okay, so this is the squid. 278 00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:27,040 Speaker 3: If people have seen a picture of this before and 279 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:29,640 Speaker 3: the thing you didn't notice about it was the strawberry 280 00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:32,920 Speaker 3: texture of the skin, you may have noticed the two 281 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:35,160 Speaker 3: wildly different looking eyes. 282 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:38,080 Speaker 2: That's right, almost kind of a I'm reminded of the 283 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:41,800 Speaker 2: whole sleep with one eye open thing, but it has 284 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:44,680 Speaker 2: like but they're both open, but they're just different sizes 285 00:16:44,760 --> 00:16:48,960 Speaker 2: and they see in different ways. It's pretty amazing. 286 00:16:49,400 --> 00:16:51,160 Speaker 4: It's like the christ pantocrater. 287 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:56,600 Speaker 2: So, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, our 288 00:16:56,640 --> 00:17:00,280 Speaker 2: strawberry squid here reaches a maximum mantle length of teen 289 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:03,920 Speaker 2: centimeters or five inches, and its habitat is the midwater 290 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:08,359 Speaker 2: region of the twilight or mesopelagic zone, so we're talking 291 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:11,520 Speaker 2: the upper portions of the ephotic zone, the dark ocean, 292 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:15,280 Speaker 2: but the dark ocean. Nonetheless, However, the strawberry squid may 293 00:17:15,320 --> 00:17:18,280 Speaker 2: reach depths of three thy three hundred feet during the day, 294 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:21,280 Speaker 2: but then migrates to shallower waters at night. 295 00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:24,800 Speaker 3: Okay, and so we've talked about organisms like this before. 296 00:17:24,840 --> 00:17:27,840 Speaker 3: I mean, one great example being the sperm whale that 297 00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:32,200 Speaker 3: operates at in radically different light regimes at different parts 298 00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:35,760 Speaker 3: of of its sort of feeding cycle. Like it might 299 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:38,120 Speaker 3: come up to shallow waters, of course, the whale would 300 00:17:38,119 --> 00:17:40,000 Speaker 3: have to come up to the surface to breathe, but 301 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:42,520 Speaker 3: then it dives very deep into the dark in order 302 00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:45,480 Speaker 3: to feed. And this would be another type of organism 303 00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:48,080 Speaker 3: that goes a little bit more up into the light 304 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:50,720 Speaker 3: zone and then down into the darker zone. 305 00:17:50,960 --> 00:17:53,639 Speaker 2: Right right. But of course, unlike the sperm whale, and 306 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:56,359 Speaker 2: the sperm whale does at different phases of its life 307 00:17:56,400 --> 00:18:00,280 Speaker 2: have to deal with predation. But this critter is more 308 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:03,879 Speaker 2: like your common housecat, being both predator and prey at 309 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:06,720 Speaker 2: all times. You know, not so much in the confines 310 00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:08,920 Speaker 2: of your house, but in the confines of the natural world. 311 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:12,840 Speaker 2: So there are two properties that are especially revealing here 312 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:16,560 Speaker 2: with this organism regarding life in the deep. First, I 313 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:18,359 Speaker 2: want to talk about a little bit about its strawberry 314 00:18:18,359 --> 00:18:24,520 Speaker 2: coloration and as well as the seeds. So again those 315 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:27,280 Speaker 2: are not seeds. Obviously, those little marks on its red 316 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:32,560 Speaker 2: flesh are bioluminescent photophores. Those are light emitting organs. Now, 317 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:37,920 Speaker 2: in general, cephalopods use photophores for different forms of camouflage 318 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:41,800 Speaker 2: and antipredation, and they can pop up in various locations 319 00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:45,240 Speaker 2: on the cephalopod body plan. But for the strawberry squid 320 00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:48,240 Speaker 2: here they're on the outer skin and the purpose here 321 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:50,720 Speaker 2: does qualify as anti predation. 322 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:54,159 Speaker 3: Okay, so that's kind of hard to understand because you 323 00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:57,320 Speaker 3: would think that you would think that lighting up your 324 00:18:57,359 --> 00:18:59,600 Speaker 3: body would attract predators, not repel them. 325 00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:00,520 Speaker 4: So how does this work? 326 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:03,280 Speaker 2: That's right, Well, we have to remember that this is 327 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:07,240 Speaker 2: the twilight zone. Some light does make it down this 328 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:10,320 Speaker 2: far during the day, and if something is looking up 329 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:13,800 Speaker 2: at you from beneath, it will see your outline against 330 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:17,560 Speaker 2: that filtered light. If you put in like sci fi 331 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:23,440 Speaker 2: film setting, imagine a starship, large starship powered down. It's 332 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:26,160 Speaker 2: just a dark form, but it's moving against the stars, 333 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:30,360 Speaker 2: and with a keen eye, you might notice that when 334 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:33,040 Speaker 2: you might think, well, if you wanted to disguise your 335 00:19:33,359 --> 00:19:35,840 Speaker 2: powered down vessel, if you were to cover it with 336 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:41,120 Speaker 2: little shiny stars, well, that might help mask your appearance. 337 00:19:41,119 --> 00:19:44,040 Speaker 2: That it might allow you to blend in to the starfield. 338 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:46,119 Speaker 2: And that's sort of what's going on with the strawberry 339 00:19:46,119 --> 00:19:52,240 Speaker 2: squid here. It uses its bioluminescence to mask itself against 340 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:55,600 Speaker 2: to blend in with the filtered down light from above 341 00:19:56,040 --> 00:19:59,920 Speaker 2: against predators below. I have a quote here that explains 342 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:05,040 Speaker 2: this general adaptation. This is from a nineteen eighty three 343 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:10,520 Speaker 2: text by Richard Edward Young titled Oceanic Bioluminescence and Overview 344 00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:15,080 Speaker 2: of General Functions. He writes, quote, this function is the 345 00:20:15,119 --> 00:20:18,720 Speaker 2: only one for which we have substantial experimental data. The 346 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:23,240 Speaker 2: hypothesis is an old and simple one. Dahlgren nineteen sixteen 347 00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:26,840 Speaker 2: suggested that blue light from the ventral photophores and squids 348 00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:29,919 Speaker 2: would cause these animals in deep water to blend with 349 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:33,400 Speaker 2: the sunlight when viewed from below. The process that allows 350 00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:37,439 Speaker 2: a mesopolagic animal to eliminate its silhouette with bioluminescence and 351 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:41,320 Speaker 2: thereby conceal itself requires a very sophisticated mechanism. In the 352 00:20:41,359 --> 00:20:42,520 Speaker 2: animals that utilize it. 353 00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:42,879 Speaker 4: Well. 354 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:47,639 Speaker 2: For maximum effectiveness, they must precisely match their luminescence to 355 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:52,280 Speaker 2: the intensity, angular distribution, and color of the downwelling light. 356 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:56,840 Speaker 2: For those that counter illuminate in near surface waters at night, 357 00:20:57,359 --> 00:21:00,119 Speaker 2: where the flight field is much more variable than in 358 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:03,480 Speaker 2: deep water, the mechanism must be especially complex. 359 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:04,280 Speaker 4: Wow. 360 00:21:04,359 --> 00:21:06,320 Speaker 3: So it's almost like what we see in the movie 361 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:10,640 Speaker 3: Predator in a way where you know the predator's invisibility. 362 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:14,560 Speaker 3: Cloak seems to be a way of kind of projecting 363 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:18,440 Speaker 3: an image of the light patterns from behind the alien 364 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:21,400 Speaker 3: onto the front facing side of it, so that when 365 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:23,760 Speaker 3: you're looking at it, it's it's like a movie screen 366 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:26,080 Speaker 3: showing you what you would expect to see if the 367 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:29,000 Speaker 3: thing were not there from the from the backside. It 368 00:21:29,080 --> 00:21:31,199 Speaker 3: might not have to be that exact with with like 369 00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:33,679 Speaker 3: outlines and images in the case of the squid, but 370 00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:38,080 Speaker 3: it does need to very closely match the light intensity 371 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:42,040 Speaker 3: and the color patterns and angular distribution of the light 372 00:21:42,119 --> 00:21:44,480 Speaker 3: that would be coming down from above otherwise. 373 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:49,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, So to humanize this sort of light show, it 374 00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:53,399 Speaker 2: may not be as as impressive as watching say a 375 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:56,760 Speaker 2: cuttlefish or some other you know an or or some 376 00:21:56,800 --> 00:21:59,800 Speaker 2: sort of you know shallow water octopus blending in when 377 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:05,880 Speaker 2: it's environment with its camouflage. But it is a complex act, nonetheless, 378 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:08,919 Speaker 2: So it isn't just a matter of like, let's just 379 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:11,480 Speaker 2: throw some stars up there on your hide so that 380 00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:15,520 Speaker 2: whatever's below can't can't make you out. Like. It's more 381 00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:20,000 Speaker 2: nuanced and it's about hitting the right light intensity at 382 00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:23,400 Speaker 2: all times. Now, that strawberry red coloration, that's a little 383 00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:26,639 Speaker 2: bit more straightforward, but it reveals another curious relationship with 384 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:28,679 Speaker 2: light in the deep. This is one we've touched on 385 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:32,680 Speaker 2: before in the past, and it is red. The color red, 386 00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:35,320 Speaker 2: maybe the color of caution. And notice on the surface, 387 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:37,440 Speaker 2: you know, it is the color you might wear to 388 00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:41,360 Speaker 2: a wedding if you want to attract attention that sort 389 00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:45,480 Speaker 2: of thing. It is the color of it's a flashy color. 390 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:47,639 Speaker 2: It's a sports car color, right, But in the depths 391 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:50,760 Speaker 2: it's a stealth color. And that's because red light doesn't 392 00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:54,040 Speaker 2: filter this far deep, and so red organisms appear quite 393 00:22:54,119 --> 00:22:59,119 Speaker 2: black in the natural illumination i e. Not like submarine illumination, 394 00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:04,440 Speaker 2: thus further cloaking the organism here in question from predators, 395 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:05,640 Speaker 2: but in a more passive way. 396 00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:09,200 Speaker 3: I see, so like it's because the longer wavelengths of 397 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:11,359 Speaker 3: visible light don't make it as deep in the water, 398 00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:14,200 Speaker 3: so the red, the more red colors just don't really 399 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:16,720 Speaker 3: get reflected. Everything's kind of blue shifted down there. 400 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:19,720 Speaker 2: Yeah. But finally we have to talk about the strawberry 401 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:22,840 Speaker 2: squid's eyes and greater depth here. It does have very 402 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:29,280 Speaker 2: weird eyes again, different sizes, one big tubular and yellow lensed, 403 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:33,439 Speaker 2: and this is to keep an eye out above for 404 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:37,639 Speaker 2: the shadows of prey moving through dim waters, and then 405 00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:40,480 Speaker 2: there's this much smaller specialized eye to keep an eye 406 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:44,639 Speaker 2: out below for bioluminescence of potential predators. 407 00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:49,320 Speaker 3: So it's looking for shadows that it wants to eat 408 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:51,120 Speaker 3: and glowing things that want to. 409 00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:54,600 Speaker 2: Eat it, yes, exactly. And it's I mean, it's really 410 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:57,520 Speaker 2: hard to think about this in terms of like the 411 00:23:57,600 --> 00:24:01,720 Speaker 2: human perspective, because I mean you might imagine, like, what 412 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:03,320 Speaker 2: if I had one eye to see really well in 413 00:24:03,359 --> 00:24:05,440 Speaker 2: the day and one eye that would see really well 414 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:09,560 Speaker 2: in the night, well sort of, And in fact, there 415 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:11,960 Speaker 2: were older theories that that's what was going on here, 416 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:14,560 Speaker 2: that this squid had two different eyes, one for when 417 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:17,720 Speaker 2: it was at lower depths, in one when it was 418 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:21,640 Speaker 2: a greater depths. But this would only work. This human 419 00:24:21,680 --> 00:24:24,280 Speaker 2: example would only work if you were living in the 420 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:27,320 Speaker 2: sort of environment that this creature lives in, in which 421 00:24:27,359 --> 00:24:29,960 Speaker 2: you were on the threshold of darkness and light pretty 422 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:31,000 Speaker 2: much at all times. 423 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:33,920 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, in a way, we do have eyes 424 00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:36,800 Speaker 3: that can function in high and low light conditions because 425 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:40,320 Speaker 3: we have adjustable size, Like we can adjust the aperture 426 00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:43,480 Speaker 3: of the pupil, so you know, they contract and when 427 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:45,960 Speaker 3: there's a lot of light and dilate when there's less light. 428 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:47,920 Speaker 4: But this is fit. 429 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:50,359 Speaker 3: Yeah, this is squid is in a different situation than 430 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:53,119 Speaker 3: we are because we are almost never in a situation 431 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:56,240 Speaker 3: where we need to be looking in one direction where 432 00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:59,320 Speaker 3: there's more light and in another direction where there's less light. Also, 433 00:24:59,359 --> 00:25:02,760 Speaker 3: we have been knock killer vision, so generally we're looking 434 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:04,960 Speaker 3: in the same direction with both of our eyes to 435 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:10,280 Speaker 3: get a perception of depth. Instead, the squid really has 436 00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:12,439 Speaker 3: eyes on the back of its head whichever way you 437 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:15,119 Speaker 3: look from, and one way needs to be looking toward 438 00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:17,639 Speaker 3: the sky and the other eye needs to be looking away. 439 00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:21,280 Speaker 2: Yeah. Another imperfect way of thinking about this would be 440 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:23,920 Speaker 2: like if you had a human with one normal eye 441 00:25:23,960 --> 00:25:26,800 Speaker 2: and then one eye that was essentially blind but saw 442 00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:30,720 Speaker 2: really well into the astral plane, ever on the lookout 443 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:33,560 Speaker 2: for astro zombies that are coming to try and kill you. 444 00:25:34,359 --> 00:25:38,280 Speaker 2: So these eyes apparently differentiate as the squid enters adulthood, 445 00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:41,560 Speaker 2: distorting the shape of the head to accommodate the larger 446 00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:45,199 Speaker 2: upward gazing eye. And the dimorphism is because it's a 447 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:47,720 Speaker 2: creature again with an eye and two realms of light 448 00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:51,000 Speaker 2: at the same time. And I was reading a bit 449 00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:56,280 Speaker 2: more about this. Thompson, Robinson, and Johnson explored the creature's 450 00:25:56,320 --> 00:26:00,880 Speaker 2: asymmetric vision in a twenty seventeen paper published in Philosophical 451 00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:04,359 Speaker 2: Transactions with the Royal Society b. They point out that 452 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:07,560 Speaker 2: the dim to dark mesoplagic region of the deep sea 453 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:10,840 Speaker 2: boasts the highest diversity of visual adaptations in the sea. 454 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:14,520 Speaker 2: A lot of evolutionary energy has to go into scraping 455 00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:19,440 Speaker 2: out a survival story in this region, dealing with bioluminescence 456 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:22,840 Speaker 2: below and filtered sunlight above, but it is quote a 457 00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:26,760 Speaker 2: fertile environment for eye evolution. Now we mentioned that that 458 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:31,000 Speaker 2: upward gazing eye has a yellow linb and they point 459 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:32,840 Speaker 2: out that this may be used to break up the 460 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:38,199 Speaker 2: counter illumination camouflage of their prey. They found it in 461 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:40,760 Speaker 2: sixty five percent of the specimens that they looked at. 462 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:44,760 Speaker 2: Yellow lenses are apparently common in upward looking deep sea 463 00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:48,639 Speaker 2: organisms as well, like in fish, because they're thought to 464 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:54,159 Speaker 2: quote break counter illumination camouflage by enhancing spectral differences between 465 00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:58,480 Speaker 2: down welling sunlight and bioluminescent camouflage. So it's geared at 466 00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:03,560 Speaker 2: deciphering the very sore of counter illumination CAMO camouflage that 467 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:04,720 Speaker 2: it itself uses. 468 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:09,840 Speaker 3: Mm okay, So it's like it simultaneously is wearing a 469 00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:12,359 Speaker 3: kind of lead shielding and X ray glasses. 470 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:13,520 Speaker 4: Yeah. 471 00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:15,720 Speaker 2: They point out that body posture is also key. They 472 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:19,159 Speaker 2: position themselves with their head and arms downward, with the 473 00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:22,600 Speaker 2: posterior mantle pointed upward in a vertical posture, and this 474 00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:26,879 Speaker 2: ensures that they're pointing their photophores downward again to cast 475 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:31,840 Speaker 2: that counter illumination spell. And I think it's just such 476 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:34,439 Speaker 2: a fascinating example of a form that has evolved to 477 00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:37,520 Speaker 2: thrive in a delicate environment. So their predators include various 478 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:40,399 Speaker 2: sharks and also even whales. And as for what they 479 00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:44,480 Speaker 2: themselves prey upon, stomach contents suggest a mix of fish, 480 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:48,679 Speaker 2: other squid as well as crustaceans strawberry squids forever. 481 00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:50,160 Speaker 4: Let me take you. 482 00:27:50,200 --> 00:28:03,480 Speaker 2: Down all right now. The next deep sea organism I 483 00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:08,120 Speaker 2: want to talk about is the fin deep sea octopuses 484 00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:14,360 Speaker 2: of the genus Grimpotothus, commonly referred to as Dumbo octopuses 485 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:17,199 Speaker 2: because I mean, well, just look at them. Included a 486 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:21,120 Speaker 2: couple of images here for you, Joe. They're adorable and 487 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:25,360 Speaker 2: they boast earl like fins that remind many of Dumbo, 488 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:26,240 Speaker 2: the flying elephant. 489 00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:30,280 Speaker 3: They look tremendously like Dumbo. Yes, extremely cute and with 490 00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:34,760 Speaker 3: big floppy ears and almost yeah, I kind of elephantine 491 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:37,720 Speaker 3: shape to their lumpy head body mm hmm. 492 00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:42,440 Speaker 2: Sometimes the position of their arms also kind of reminds 493 00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:44,600 Speaker 2: one of a trunk or trunks, like it's some sort 494 00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:47,760 Speaker 2: of weird multi trunk elephant, that sort of thing. So 495 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:51,760 Speaker 2: the Dumbo octopuses, they're members of the Serena suborder of octopods, 496 00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:55,680 Speaker 2: who are notable for having evolved away from jet propulsion 497 00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:59,160 Speaker 2: in favor of fin propulsion. So if you've ever consumed 498 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:02,880 Speaker 2: any cephalopod a media, or you know, learned about them 499 00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:05,320 Speaker 2: in the past, you know that I think squid are 500 00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:08,239 Speaker 2: some of the more fabulous examples of this. They use 501 00:29:08,320 --> 00:29:11,480 Speaker 2: jet propulsion. They take they they take in a bunch 502 00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:15,040 Speaker 2: of of water and then they jet it out to 503 00:29:15,320 --> 00:29:18,040 Speaker 2: push them along through the water, often at you know, 504 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:19,720 Speaker 2: nice high speeds. 505 00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:22,000 Speaker 4: Well marine rockets, yeah. 506 00:29:21,840 --> 00:29:25,600 Speaker 2: Little marine rockets. Uh. These octopods, however, have jettison back. 507 00:29:26,120 --> 00:29:29,720 Speaker 2: They also tend to lack anal flaps and ink sacs, 508 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:35,800 Speaker 2: so they can't jet ink, which is another common self 509 00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:40,240 Speaker 2: defense mechanism of cephalopods being able to just squirt out 510 00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:42,200 Speaker 2: that cloud of ink and make a quick escape. 511 00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:45,160 Speaker 4: Yeah, it's like the it's like the Batman, you know, 512 00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:46,920 Speaker 4: smoke escape pom. Right. 513 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:52,160 Speaker 2: And they also lack chromatophores, so they can't adjust their coloration. 514 00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:55,520 Speaker 2: They can't do any kind of blending in with their 515 00:29:55,640 --> 00:29:59,480 Speaker 2: environment other than what their uh, their their natural coloration 516 00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:03,600 Speaker 2: is all ready providing. Okay, their arms are web together, 517 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:07,000 Speaker 2: which also earns them the informal name of umbrella octopuses. 518 00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:09,240 Speaker 4: Oh well, that's just adorable. 519 00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:13,480 Speaker 2: So what we have then, is as a bunch of 520 00:30:13,520 --> 00:30:16,920 Speaker 2: creatures that seem to have just abandoned most of like 521 00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:22,520 Speaker 2: the really expensive, evolutionarily speaking, self defense mechanisms that their 522 00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:26,080 Speaker 2: can have evolved in favor of a more just sort 523 00:30:26,080 --> 00:30:32,080 Speaker 2: of drifting, leisurely existence. Now why would that be, Well, 524 00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:35,880 Speaker 2: it has everything to do with how deep they actually reside. 525 00:30:36,280 --> 00:30:40,440 Speaker 2: They reside at extreme depths of at least thirteen one 526 00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:43,400 Speaker 2: hundred feet or four thousand meters, putting them squarely in 527 00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:46,360 Speaker 2: the abyssopal agic zone, so way down there, not quite 528 00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:49,120 Speaker 2: into the Hadel but still pretty turned deep like way 529 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:52,160 Speaker 2: like in a way, we keep mentioning the Hadel zone 530 00:30:52,160 --> 00:30:54,480 Speaker 2: as being like, this is the extreme, this is where 531 00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:56,880 Speaker 2: the real depth happens. But no, the Hadel zone is 532 00:30:56,960 --> 00:31:00,840 Speaker 2: just that extra topping on the invert did cake here 533 00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:06,480 Speaker 2: and everything is already just crushingly deep before we reach 534 00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:07,280 Speaker 2: that threshold. 535 00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:07,880 Speaker 4: Yeah. 536 00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:10,880 Speaker 3: Us talking about the ocean trenches was not to suggest 537 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:14,120 Speaker 3: that the horizontal surface of most of the bottom of 538 00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:17,080 Speaker 3: the ocean is not that deep. It is the regular 539 00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:18,160 Speaker 3: abyssle zone is deep. 540 00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:20,959 Speaker 2: So what are the dumbo octopuses eat? Well, first of all, 541 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:22,960 Speaker 2: they're not that big, eight to twelve inches in length, 542 00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:27,240 Speaker 2: and here in the depths they foread for pelegic invertebrates 543 00:31:27,680 --> 00:31:31,560 Speaker 2: generally close to the seafloor in the area that they're thriving, 544 00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:34,959 Speaker 2: but they don't. It's important to note they don't like 545 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:41,120 Speaker 2: crawl around seemingly on the seafloor like like other octopods 546 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:44,040 Speaker 2: are observed to do. They live, you know, in the water. 547 00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:47,560 Speaker 2: They do go down to the sea floor as well, though, 548 00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:52,480 Speaker 2: to lay their eggs, generally on deep water corals. But otherwise, yeah, 549 00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:56,280 Speaker 2: they're free swimming, dreamy floaters in the depths that have 550 00:31:56,800 --> 00:32:00,880 Speaker 2: you know, cast aside all of their evolved andry. And 551 00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:05,000 Speaker 2: it's because you know, they don't seem to have to 552 00:32:05,120 --> 00:32:08,920 Speaker 2: deal with that many predators. They do have predators, you know, 553 00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:13,560 Speaker 2: generally diving predators from above, but it seems that they 554 00:32:13,760 --> 00:32:16,960 Speaker 2: likely lost their various costly defense mechanisms because they thrive 555 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:19,280 Speaker 2: in a rather depopulated region of the deep. 556 00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:23,560 Speaker 3: Okay, And this is a type of adaptation that we've 557 00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:27,520 Speaker 3: seen in other animals and other ecosystems, where you know, 558 00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:29,600 Speaker 3: you can lose a lot of your defenses if you 559 00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:32,280 Speaker 3: just adapt so that you are able to thrive in 560 00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:35,680 Speaker 3: a difficult environment where they're not a lot of predators. 561 00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:39,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, it reminds me in an imperfect way, I'm sure 562 00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:41,640 Speaker 2: of when I was a kid, I would look at 563 00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:46,040 Speaker 2: all these airplane illustrations and sketches, you know, and like 564 00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:50,960 Speaker 2: the er some of your higher altitude planes they often 565 00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:53,200 Speaker 2: had like really like cool looks, you know, like the 566 00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:57,320 Speaker 2: SR seventy one Blackbird or you know, various strategic bombers 567 00:32:57,360 --> 00:32:58,720 Speaker 2: and all. But then when you get to the U two, 568 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:00,760 Speaker 2: which is a very very high it was you know, 569 00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:04,240 Speaker 2: a very high altitude spyplane. You know, it looks looks 570 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:07,680 Speaker 2: a little dumb, and it just has really long wings, 571 00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:11,160 Speaker 2: but it's you know, it's it's altitude was its defense. 572 00:33:11,600 --> 00:33:13,360 Speaker 2: And in a sense, this is this is kind of 573 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:15,800 Speaker 2: like the inversion of that, like its depth is its defense, 574 00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:20,200 Speaker 2: and therefore it doesn't need, you know, to look crazy. 575 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:22,959 Speaker 2: It doesn't need to you know, have a bunch of 576 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:25,080 Speaker 2: guns on it or in this case, you know, it's 577 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:30,320 Speaker 2: various octopid defense mechanisms. Now, their reproductive systems also speak 578 00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:33,760 Speaker 2: to their isolation, and we see this in other organisms. 579 00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:35,560 Speaker 2: We're going to discuss another one, I think in the 580 00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:39,720 Speaker 2: next episode. If you're if you're thriving in an area 581 00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:43,280 Speaker 2: where there's just you're basically in a desert, well you're 582 00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:46,400 Speaker 2: you're not going to run into potential mates as much either. 583 00:33:46,760 --> 00:33:48,080 Speaker 2: I mean, you're not going to run into foes, but 584 00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:51,040 Speaker 2: you're also not going to run into potential friends. So 585 00:33:51,200 --> 00:33:54,560 Speaker 2: a female keeps multiple eggs in various states of development 586 00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:57,400 Speaker 2: inside of her body, and she can also store sperm 587 00:33:57,480 --> 00:34:00,400 Speaker 2: for extended periods of time as well, thus making the 588 00:34:00,440 --> 00:34:05,760 Speaker 2: most out of these infrequent encounters with the opposite sex. Furthermore, 589 00:34:05,440 --> 00:34:09,759 Speaker 2: the mother doesn't stay with the eggs once they've been laid. 590 00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:12,680 Speaker 2: According to a twenty eighteen article by Shay at All 591 00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:17,239 Speaker 2: in Current Biology, the young here hatch as fully confident juveniles, 592 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:23,120 Speaker 2: so a newly hatched dumbo octopod can immediately begin carrying on, 593 00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:27,040 Speaker 2: feeding and so forth like any adult born. 594 00:34:27,160 --> 00:34:27,480 Speaker 4: Ready. 595 00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:31,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, so I love these guys. I mean they're weird looking, 596 00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:34,480 Speaker 2: They're definitely weird, But their weirdness is one of isolation 597 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:39,720 Speaker 2: and a casting off of defensive adaptation speed ink camouflage, 598 00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:42,879 Speaker 2: because they've adapted to live so deep, not so deep 599 00:34:42,880 --> 00:34:46,080 Speaker 2: that they can't be found by predators, but seemingly such 600 00:34:46,120 --> 00:34:50,320 Speaker 2: predation is just far less common. However, it is stressed 601 00:34:50,360 --> 00:34:52,759 Speaker 2: in some of the literatures looking at that they do 602 00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:56,640 Speaker 2: deter predators by ballooning up. That's one thing that they 603 00:34:56,800 --> 00:34:59,120 Speaker 2: kept like they can balloon up their bodies and their 604 00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:03,480 Speaker 2: umbrella arms to appear larger than they actually are. This, 605 00:35:03,560 --> 00:35:06,239 Speaker 2: of course, is a common anti predation feature, and so 606 00:35:06,280 --> 00:35:08,319 Speaker 2: they've they've held onto that one. That's one that they 607 00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:11,920 Speaker 2: I guess it's not too costly from an evolutionary standpoint, 608 00:35:11,960 --> 00:35:14,319 Speaker 2: and they can keep that one for when they need it. 609 00:35:14,360 --> 00:35:17,479 Speaker 3: But in the case of this animal, that just sounds adorable. Look, 610 00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:20,000 Speaker 3: I'm big and scary. 611 00:35:20,080 --> 00:35:23,239 Speaker 2: Yeah, indeed, how big and scary could they? Could they 612 00:35:23,280 --> 00:35:26,279 Speaker 2: end up looking? Yeah, it seems like that's, you know, 613 00:35:26,360 --> 00:35:29,880 Speaker 2: kind of like a last ditch defense mechanism. But for 614 00:35:29,920 --> 00:35:31,919 Speaker 2: the for the most part, it's just I'm so deep, 615 00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:34,600 Speaker 2: you're probably not gonna find me. The odds are with 616 00:35:34,760 --> 00:35:38,000 Speaker 2: me that you can't find an eating all right, Where 617 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:40,080 Speaker 2: We're gonna go ahead and close out this episode of 618 00:35:40,120 --> 00:35:41,839 Speaker 2: stuff to blow your mind, but we're gonna be back. 619 00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:45,760 Speaker 2: We have more to discuss in our look at dark 620 00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:49,239 Speaker 2: ocean predators, you know we have. We're gonna get back 621 00:35:49,280 --> 00:35:52,600 Speaker 2: to a creature we mentioned in passing in the first episode, 622 00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:55,680 Speaker 2: and I believe next episode is also going to be 623 00:35:55,680 --> 00:35:58,719 Speaker 2: the one where I get to discuss one of the 624 00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:01,040 Speaker 2: deep sea predators that are or if you've probably thought 625 00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:02,719 Speaker 2: up any like when are they going to talk about 626 00:36:02,719 --> 00:36:06,399 Speaker 2: this one? Well, the next episode is probably the episode. 627 00:36:07,239 --> 00:36:09,640 Speaker 2: In the meantime, Yeah, write in, We'd love to hear 628 00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:11,560 Speaker 2: from you. Just a reminder that Stuff to Blow Your 629 00:36:11,560 --> 00:36:14,359 Speaker 2: Mind is primarily a science and culture episode, with core 630 00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:17,800 Speaker 2: episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, short form episodes on Wednesdays 631 00:36:17,800 --> 00:36:20,560 Speaker 2: and on Fridays. We set aside most serious concerns to 632 00:36:20,680 --> 00:36:23,279 Speaker 2: just talk about a weird film on Weird House Cinema. 633 00:36:23,640 --> 00:36:27,400 Speaker 3: Huge thanks as always to our excellent audio producer JJ Posway. 634 00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:29,160 Speaker 3: If you would like to get in touch with us 635 00:36:29,160 --> 00:36:31,640 Speaker 3: with feedback on this episode or any other, to suggest 636 00:36:31,640 --> 00:36:33,680 Speaker 3: a topic for the future, or just to say hello, 637 00:36:33,800 --> 00:36:36,640 Speaker 3: you can email us at contact stuff to Blow your 638 00:36:36,680 --> 00:36:45,000 Speaker 3: Mind dot com. 639 00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:48,040 Speaker 1: Stuff to Blow Your Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For 640 00:36:48,120 --> 00:36:50,920 Speaker 1: more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 641 00:36:51,040 --> 00:36:53,800 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you're listening to your favorite shows. 642 00:37:02,800 --> 00:37:04,840 Speaker 4: Nations ra