Dedicated to the protection of the deep sea and marine diversity, BLOOM operates very differently from other associations. As a non-profit organisation, its actions favour independent research, educational and popularisation approaches regarding environmental issues. Founded by Claire Nouvian, this informational and educational approach matches her fundamental expectations, her rigour and passion. Overall, this organisation targets both political and economic decision makers, as well as the general public.
BLOOM’s Vision
To reverse the course of environmental and human tragedy, BLOOM aims to restore our ocean ecosystem to its full biological capacity, such that in the future, there is still food and people can still retain their jobs at sea.
In order to be efficient, they have chosen to narrow down their focus on 3 aspects:
Preserving the Deep sea, which is the last intact marine environment
To fight the indifference towards extinction of sharks so as to protect endangered species
Improve public subsidies to the fishing sector in order to ensure survival of the fisherman
Field of action
In order to achieve the above 3, their actions will be taken with the below 4 strategies in mind. These 4 strategies are interdependent on each other in order to enhance chances of success, transparency and effectiveness.
Changing policy and private/industrial practices in response to ecological and socio-economic urgency
Changing consumer habits
Educating the public, children and future decision-makers
The Abyssopelagic zone is the 4th layer of the ocean, and refers to waters 4000m to 6000m deep.
The title, “Abyssal Plain” refers to sediment-covered ocean floors which can be found at 3000m to 6000m deep. They cover more than 50% of the Earth’s surface and are made up of mid-ocean ridges, island arcs, ocean trenches, and the rest of the plains occasionally punctured by seamounts. The ocean floor can be said to be the final receptacle of all food that filters down the water column. However, only 0.5% – 2% of the organic matters reaches this zone, as the organic flux depends on the production in the upper oceanic zones.
Difficult to collect information
Historically, it has been difficult to collect information at this zone due to its sheer vastness and remoteness of the abyss. However, recent expeditions found that high biodiversity are still present. (i.e. up to 2000 species of bacteria, 250 species of protozoans, and 500 species of invertebrates.
Picture taken at “The Deep” Exhibition.
The sea spider which can grow up to 30cm: paces slowly along the ocean floor in search of sponges, coral or anemones to feed on.
Picture taken at “The Deep” exhibition
The Deep-sea Lizardfish can be found on abyssal plains up to 4500m deep. While it is badly adapted for swimming, it waits for its prey while raising its head, like how a lizard would.
The waters from 1000m to 4000m deep is categorised as Bathypelagic Zone.
Source: DevianArt
In this zone, temperatures here no longer exceed 4° Celsius. It is impossible to detect any light, and food sources have been drastically reduced too. The easiest food to obtain would be the crumbs falling from the shallower waters; however majority of them would have already been eaten by the many organisms residing in the first kilometre. It would be impractical to swim up to obtain more food as it is too far away from the shallower waters too.
How do marine creatures at this zone survive then?
In order to adapt to this hostile environment, some of the animals here are static creatures with slow metabolisms. Rather than using force or speed, they resort to tricks to find their meals. Others have adapted by exhibiting unique body characteristics, such as gigantic jaws, and highly elastic stomach which can accommodate a prey larger than itself.
Picture taken at “The Deep” exhibitionPicture taken at “The Deep” exhibition
Overall, animals living at this seemingly inhospitable zone have adapted extraordinarily.
This post will account for the remaining half of the mesopelagic zone, from 600m to 1000m deep.
Colours
Underneath this tremendous volume, Nouvian demonstrates that there are “invisible frontiers” that divides this midwater zone. Each frontier is influenced by various factors, such as:
Light levels
Temperature
Salinity
Pressure and oxygen concentration
However, what is interesting is that animals with pigmented skin can be observed in this range, contrary to some of people’s expectation that the deeper the sea, the duller the animals’ colour would be. The colours range from bright red to dark brown.
Since most animals at these depths are bioluminescent, such pigments will serve to absorb the blue-green bioluminescence most animals create, thus allowing the predator to hide any biolumniscent sparks their prey may have emitted in their stomachs.
Picture taken at “The Deep” exhibitionPicture taken at “The Deep” exhbition
Since the colour, red, is the first wavelength to disappear into the water, it is unlikely for a marine animal’s predator to detect it as it will appear to be camouflaged by a “black cape”. Overall, in deeper and darker waters, having pigmented skin could be an advantage instead of a weakness (where predators are attracted to the prey’s coloured appearance).
The epipelagic zone refers to the first layer of the ocean (0 – 200m). It is also known as sunlit zone, or the euphotic zone, or sunlight zone – where most of the light is still visible. Many creatures were not discovered at first and this midwater region remained mysterious as submersibles preferred to save energy for exploring the deeper regions by turning off the lights. Later in the 1980s, dives in this zone up till the next zone stumbled upon the wide variety of organisms that were waiting to be discovered.
Source: DevianArt
However, the sunlit zone only accounts for up till 200m. Mesopelagic zone accounts for the bulk of 150m to 600m. Categorised as 200m to 600m deep, it is considered the second layer of the ocean. It was also observed that at 150m below the surface, 99% of the light has already been absorbed by the seawater. Hence, overall this section was named ‘Twilight of the Ocean’, where only faint and filtered sunlight is received during daytime near the end of the epipelagic zone (0-200m),
Light and survival
For human beings, light has been an integral part of our lives and is essential in survival; so much that invention of artificial light was crucial as sunlight only lasts in the daytime. However, light in the deep sea brings about more vulnerability instead.
In these first 2 layers of the ocean where light is the most abundant, so are the food sources. However, as sunlight dims deeper into the sea, the faint light turns the zone into a shadow theatre, where even the smallest of silhouettes will stand out distinctly against the brighter background.
An example of shadow play in the deep. Source: DiveFlagApp Blog
In order to survive, the exhibition highlights ways the animals have adapted.
Picture taken at ‘The Deep’ exhibition
To avoid detection by predators, some deep sea animals have transparent bodies.
Other animals create its own light to counterbalance the opacity of tissues (known as Bioluminescence), or have a silvery reflective coating (known as Counterillumination). Sometimes there may be a combination of both.
Picture taken at ‘The Deep’ exhibition
Unlike how animals with transparent bodies try to avoid detection, bioluminescent animals like this angler fish adapt in a different way. This angler fish uses its fishing rod-like hanging from his head to lure in his prey.
Picture taken at ‘The Deep’ exhibition
However, this species is unique in its capacity to reel in the prey right up to his mouth by retracting its rod in a pouch, which is very similar to that of a fly-fisherman.
Other bioluminescent animals commonly use this property for communication, such as attracting a mate.
Counterillumination at work. Source: Ocean Portal
Counterillumination refers to how light produced by the animals can help them camouflage from predators.
This fish shows how counterillumination helps the fish to blend in with the dimly lit waters, where light is coming from above.
Overall, the section can be said to be the most abundant in marine life, in terms of wildlife diversity and food sources. Different ways of adaptation can be observed in the marine animals living in this twilight zone as well.
