July 5, 2010

Antarctica: Waters Filled With Living Creatures

The farthest-south living animal is a pink mite. It measures around 1/100 of an inch in length. Spider-like, this tiny life forms eats fungi and algae. This mite, recently found only 309 miles from the South Pole, was found by a scientist from Hawaii. There were lichens within 266 miles of the Pole, which is closer than any living organism has been found.

There are only certain types of animals that take up permanent residence on the Antarctic continent, and they are insecticide.If you'd like to see most of the fifty-six species of arthropods from Antarctica, you'll need some sort of magnification. They're too small to see with your naked eye. A wingless fly is the biggest of these creatures. It is about the same size as a common horsefly. Their lives are paused until the air temperatures reach 32 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the freezing point of water, and they resume their daily activities. You will find info on cruise to Antarctica by visiting that site.

While the continent itself is barren and lifeless, there are all manner of animals traversing the Antarctic oceans, like the giant blue whale, which dwarfs every other living creature.Scientists opted to use a four by six foot capsule to look at the life under the water. As they took turns, the scientists watched the sea life around them through six windows. A built-in hydrophone also let them hear the sounds in the water.

One jelly fish swam by with tentacles trailing thirty feet behind it. They didn't see many other fish. For the most part, there were an abundance of seals playfully swimming in the sea, alternating between peeking at the chamber and breathing through an ice hole.The hydrophone picked up all the chirping and whistling that seals typically make when communicating.This was an underwater racket one scientist hadn't heard previously.

Scientists speculate that the seals are using this noise to both communicate and find their way in the dark waters. The Antarctic is a hard place to find both food and air, so the navigation theory makes sense. Analysis of the seal sounds is being performed in the Antarctic.Seals can make some sounds that humans can't even hear. They have much too high of a frequency. If you are in search of info don't forget to view this resource Antarctic cruise reviews.

Just how the sounds are created is still a mystery. Both their nostrils and mouths are tightly closed when in the water. The deepest a mammal has ever been recorded to dive is nearly 1500 feet; this was a Weddell seal. Another seal stayed underwater for over 28 minutes before it needed to breathe. A sample of mother seals milk was procured by one lucky zoologist. This milk is extremely high in fat, and allows baby seals to gain weight very rapidly. In just six weeks time, a seal pup can increase its weight by five times.

Scientists have investigated Antarctic seas wearing special frogman dive suits. Red and other colored seaweeds crisscross the ocean's floor. Five foot long worms, four foot sponges and big red and white starfish were also there.

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