Adaptations for DeepSea Aquatic Life

J. Torromeo, APA Formatting

The deep-sea is the largest habitat with life on earth, but knowledge is
limited due to extreme factors. Deep-sea organisms have incorporated
feeding patterns, physical adaptations like loosejaw, differentiation in visual
development, and molecular adaptations to make life at depths beyond
1000 m a possibility. Studying life on the ocean floor can be a daunting task
due to physical limitations, but is critical in understanding this phenomenon.

Introduction
Despite being the largest habitat on the earth, the deep sea remains
the least explored and least understood habitat on earth (Douglas, 2000). A
combination of biotic and abiotic barriers make life at 4000 m difficult: a
distinct scarcity of available food sources, an extreme magnitude of
hydrostatic pressure, and no visible light are just a part of everyday life for a
bottom-dweller like a deep-sea dragonfish. This review will explore some
recently performed studies to help us better understand how organisms
adapt to such an environment with such extreme conditions.

Feeding Adaptations
Behavioral Adaptation: Feeding Patterns
Among the least documented aspects of deep sea life are the daily
dietary patterns of its many inhabitants. A study was recently performed
that analyzed the food consumption of five species native to the
bathypelagic zone: Alepocephalus rostratus, Coryphaenoides mediterraeus,
Lepidion lepidion, Coryphaenoides guentheri, and Polyacanthonotus
rissoanus (Modica, 2014). The experiment aimed to identify both the food
requirements and feeding patterns of fish species living below 1000 m.
Results found that three of the studied species follow a feeding
pattern. Differences in the patterns of examined stomach content suggests
that feeding patterns are linked with prey availability. A. rostratus, C.
mediterraeus, and L. lepidion all showed a feeding rhythm and were found to
primarily feed on active-swimmer species, including prey that is known to
migrate vertically from the surface. Conversely, C. guentheri and P.
rissoanus did not show any particular feeding patterns. Stomach contents
revealed that C. guentheri and P. rissoanus typically feed on benthic prey,
organisms that live on the ocean floor. Food consumption was estimated to
be extremely low across the board, with all of the five species consuming
less than 1% of their wet body mass per day (Modica).

Morphological Adaptation: Loosejaw

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Since potential prey become more and more scarce as you travel
closer to the bottom of the ocean, many

animals have

developed morphological adaptations to help

alleviate

this problem. Christopher Kenaley explored a

particular adaptation in Stomiidae, a
taxonomic family that consists of deep-sea
dragonfish and their relatives. Stomiid fish are apex predators
that use large, fang-like teeth and the unique
ability to open the jaw to angles greater than
100 to capture a variety of prey in an environment
that lacks biomass (2012). The study used
computer modeling and simulations to
investigate the kinematic properties and
performance of the loosejaw trait in

Figure 1. A shows the linkages that create

high gape angles in the feeding position. B
shows a front view of M. niger in the
feeding position. Retrieved from
Dragonfish Feeding Biomechanics
(Kenaley, 2012).

Stomiidae as well as infer any advantages or disadvantages that it may

bring.
Analysis showed that dragonfish jaws have many adaptations that help
facilitate catching both large and fast-moving prey. Stomiidae jaws are
designed in a way that reduces lower-jaw surface area, minimizing resistive
forces and allowing for high displacement velocities with an extremely long
jaw (Kenaley, 2012). The loosejaw also has a reduced adductor mass that
allows the long jaws to close at equally high velocities. These adaptations

are critical for maximizing the amount of potential prey for Stomiidae, who
live in an environment where food is both scarce and highly variable in size.

Hydrostatic Pressure Adaptations

-Actin and the Mechanism behind Pressure Tolerance
Extreme hydrostatic pressure is one of the defining characteristics of
the deep-sea environment. One researcher set out to explain how proteins
have adapted to high pressures by comparing the structures of important
muscle proteins -actin and myosin heavy chain (MyHC) of Coryphaenoides
yaquinae and C. armatus, two deep-sea fish, and their non-deep-sea
relatives C. acrolepis and C. cinereus (Morita, 2010).
The results found three specific amino acid substitutions in the -actin
of the deep-sea species that allow the actin to function normally at pressures
of up to 60 MPa (Morita). The MyHCs of the deep-sea species also have
slight differences in amino acids and even three-dimensional structure, but
the actual effects of these are unknown. The author states that the MyHC
substitutions are also probably linked to high pressure function since they are
not present in the non-deep-sea species.
A follow-up experiment was conducted based on the previous findings
that aimed to pinpoint the mechanism behind -actin pressure tolerance in
deep-sea organisms (Wakai, 2014). The -actin pressure tolerance of
previously examined deep-sea dwellers C. armatus and C. yaquinae was
compared to a vast number of species that included carp, rabbits, chickens,
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and even humans. When under extreme pressure, salt bridge patterns in
deep-sea actin underwent significant changes. Salt bridges formed between
ATP and amino acid residue Lys137, stabilizing ATP binding and the
arrangement of subdomains (Wakai). An increase in the total number of salt
bridges was also observed. These findings suggest that deep-sea actin
retains function under increased pressure by utilizing extra salt bridges to
stabilize both actin subdomains and ATP binding.

Sight Adaptations
Shifts in Sensory Organs
One might expect that, over time, species living in an environment
with no light would eventually stop developing eyes altogether. Optical
sensory organs are both complex and costly to develop and maintain, so why
is a useless feature so common among bottom-dwelling organisms? As it
turns out, some creatures of the deep rely on bioluminescence for nearly
everything (Schrope). From warning off predators to luring a mate or
unsuspecting prey, bioluminescence has a multitude of uses at the bottom of
the sea. None of this would matter if the individuals living there had no way
to effectively see it.
A study by H. J. Wagner found that while deep-sea organisms may
develop eyes, their function and relative usefulness can change over the
course of one lifetime. A total of 39 C. armatus individuals were analyzed at
different stages of development. Brain anatomy was compared from early
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juvenile stages to adulthood, with the main focus on relative and absolute
volumes of the four main sensory areas as well as two major integration
centers (Wagner).
Wagner found that the relative volumes of the octavolateral and
gustatory areas remained constant during growth. However, the relative
volume of the optic tectum decreased and the olfactory bulb increased in
volume as armatus transitioned to adulthood. This change in relative
volumes was attributed to early development of C. armatus. Although not
much is known about the development of this particular fish, it is believed
that fertilized eggs drift up toward nutrient-rich waters before hatching
(Wagner). The growing armatus would then make its way toward its natural
habitat of the ocean floor, where light is much less prevalent and they rely
more on olfactory senses to find food.

Far-Red Bioluminescence
One particularly interesting case of bioluminescence occurs in deepsea dragonfish. Bioluminescence generally produces light in the blue region
of the visible light spectrum, at a wavelength of approximately 450-500 nm
(Douglas, 2000). Most fish are able to see this light due to visual pigments
that absorb light in this range. Three particular species of Stomiidae are
unique in that they produce light in the far-red spectrum. These emissions
come from suborbital photopores, peaking sharply at wavelengths beyond
700 nm (Douglas).

Douglass study has found that the three species have anywhere from
two to four long-wave-shifted visual pigments that allow them to see their
own bioluminescence (2000). More importantly, they are the only organisms
in their habitat that are known to have these pigments; meaning that deepsea dragonfish emit a light that is invisible to all other species. This allows
deep-sea dragonfish to hunt for food and communicate with each other on
their own private network of sorts, remaining undetected by potential
predators and prey alike. The origin of this unique visual pigment is not
completely known; however, the fluorescence emission spectra of the
pigment matches up very closely with that of mesopelagic copepods, a major
part of Stomiidae diets (Douglas, 2000). This finding suggests that the
pigment is not produced by deep-sea dragonfish themselves, but is instead
acquired through its diet.

Final Thoughts and Future Studies

The extreme conditions characteristic of the deep-sea make it a fairly
difficult topic of study. Lots of work remains to be done, as technology has
only recently allowed us to travel deep into the ocean and learn about how
the world beneath ours works. Future studies that would be beneficial to
conduct include the effects of amino acid substitutions in MyHCs, as well as
the development of C. armatus. Both topics are relatively unknown and may
be crucial in furthering our knowledge of how life in the deep-sea is suited to
different species.

References
Douglas, R. H., Mullineaux, C. W., & Partridge, J. C. (2000). Long-wave sensitivity in deep-sea
stomiid dragonfish with far-red bioluminescence: Evidence for a dietary origin of the
chlorophyll-derived retinal photosensitizer of Malacosteus niger. Philosophical
Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 355(1401), 1269-1272.
Kenaley, C. P. (2012). Exploring feeding behaviour in deep-sea dragonfishes (Teleostei:
Stomiidae): Jaw biomechanics and functional significance of a loosejaw. Biological
Journal of the Linnean Society, 106(1), 224-240.
Modica, L., Cartes, J. E., & Carrassn, M. (2014). Food consumption of five deep-sea fishes in
the Balearic Basin (western Mediterranean Sea): Are there daily feeding rhythms in fishes
living below 1000 m? Journal of Fish Biology J Fish Biol, 85(3), 800-820.
Morita, T. (2010). High-pressure adaptation of muscle proteins from deep-sea fishes,
Coryphaenoides yaquinae and C. armatus. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences,
1189(1), 91-94.
Ocean Facts. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2016, from http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/
Schrope, M. (2007). Marine biology: Lights in the deep. Nature, 450(7169), 472-474.
Wagner, H. (2004). Sensory Brain Areas in Deep Sea Slickheads, Eels, and Grenadiers:
Comparison of Mesopelagic and Demersal Species. The Senses of Fish, 128-146.

Wakai, N., Takemura, K., Morita, T., & Kitao, A. (2014). Mechanism of Deep-Sea Fish -Actin
Pressure Tolerance Investigated by Molecular Dynamics Simulations. PLoS ONE, 9(1).

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