A gathering in the deep

Imagine the body of a large animal sinking to the deep seabed. Small crustaceans feed on it. Some fish come to catch those crustaceans.

Fish near a cetacean carcass.
In this illustration, deep-sea fish approach a whale carcass to feed on amphipods gathered around it. © dive.explo360.fr — All rights reserved. Reproduction requires permission.
Small segmented crustaceans with antennae.
Some amphipod species feed on the tissues of dead animals. © dive.explo360.fr — All rights reserved. Reproduction requires permission.

When the flesh disappears

Amphipods are small crustaceans. A crowd of them can eat a lot of flesh. In some places or seasons, shrimps or crabs come to feed too.

Three places the material can go

1

Living organisms

Some material enters the tissues of consumers.
2

Sediment

Fragments settle and may be buried.
3

Water

Dissolved substances can move with the water.

Changes too small to see

Tiny living things called microbes help break down the flesh. They’re already at work while bigger animals are still eating.

Close-up of organic material on the seabed.
Tiny organisms break down what the larger animals did not eat. © dive.explo360.fr — All rights reserved. Reproduction requires permission.

Continue reading

AMIGANSEAU CONTENT

The rest of this article is for subscribers

Log in with your AMIGANSEAU licence to continue reading.

All active AMIGANSEAU licences give access to the full article.

Explore the same world

Explore further