Instead they use chemosynthesis to create sugars using energy released from chemical reactions occurring around the hydrothermal vents in the ocean floor. In the deep ocean there is no direct sunlight and therefore creatures cannot rely on photosynthesis to convert the Sun's energy into sugars to fuel them. The first 15 seconds show the record breaking fish and later fish in the video are at a slightly shallower depth. Watch the film captured by scientists of a species of snailfish swimming at the deepest ever recorded.
Deep-sea fish such as snailfish don't have swim bladders, as the difference in pressure between the gas-filled cavity and the water pushing in on the outside would rupture them. This allows the organism to resist the extreme pressure it is under.įish living closer to the ocean surface have a swim bladder, a gas-filled organ which allows them to remain buoyant without sinking or floating to the top. Researchers from the University of Leeds concluded in a 2022 study that TMAO acts like "an anchor point within the water network" by forming strong hydrogen bonds with water molecules. Studies show that the amount of the piezolyte molecule trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) increases in ocean organisms in line with the depth of their habitat. According to deep-sea biologist Tim Shank at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, "it's like putting the stakes up in a tent". These molecules counteract the weight of the surrounding water column by increasing the space that proteins take up inside the organism's cells. Creatures such as giant amphipod crustaceans and the Mariana snailfish have high concentrations of organic molecules called piezolytes (the name comes from the Greek word " piezin" which means pressure), which stop their cellular membranes and proteins from being crushed under extremely high pressure.
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