Article 3: Plant Earth: Deep Oceans

Written by: George Fenton

Seen on 5/09/15
This episode of Plant Earth focuses on the life in the depth of the oceans. Fenton here
describes how life can survive even in the deepest reaches of the ocean. Since the filming team
used a special submarine, this is rare footage that couldnt be re-created by many other private
corporations.
This show starts out in the deep ocean about 600-900 meters below the surface of the
ocean and focuses on the Vampire Squid, a unique life form which actually shares a different
order than the squid family. This creature has adapted to the darkness of the depths where no
light filters down by creating its own light on the end of its tentacles and the top of its head. This
is a defense mechanism by the cephalopod only used in dire situations to confuse the predator
and escape back into the darkness. After the incursion with the squid, the documentary shifted to
the unique community that Geothermal Vents create in their habitat. Even though the waters
around the Vents should be way too hot for anything to live in it, small bacterias manage to thrive
in the heat of the water, and with bacteria growing so vigorously small shrimp have adapted to
feed upon the new life and deal with the intense heat, creating a small, self-sustaining
community that would be impossible anywhere else in the world. Lastly, the chapter ended with
the Blue Whale, a creature hunted to the brink of extinction. While most people know of this
animals plight, not too many know that beyond their numbers, we dont know much more about
them. Theyre constantly seen migrating, but where they migrate to and from still remains a
mystery as well as their breeding grounds.
The big question raised by this article is whats still out there? While explores may have
reach the ocean depths in some shallow areas, more than 95% of the ocean still remains clouded

in enigmas. Do things live down there? And if so, how do handle the massive pressure levels of
the ocean above them? What do they eat? The questions just continue from there, speculating
about the unknown.
This new information is very important to my portfolio as it describes life surviving in
unusual places, which goes hand-in-hand with my portfolio of life-survivability. The community
with the geothermal vents was a prime example that life can survive almost anywhere, even
when it should be theoretically impossible. That is the summation of my findings from this
article by Planet Earth and all of them were very useful.