Will Ford
BIO 1610
The article that I chose focuses on what to me is a very interesting topic because it shows just how much we still have to discover in biology. It starts off by explaining how at night deep sea plankton migrate up closer to the surface than usual. Along with these plankton many of the othere deep sea fish who feed on them also go up closer to the surface. This causes a huge variety of fish to be much more easily observed by people because they are so much closer, all you need is your basic scuba diving skills. However with this "Blackwater Diving" even the most seasoned scuba diver can be thrown completely out of his element because you encounter animals that you would have never ever seen like that in their natural habitat.
This type of deep water diving started first in Hawaii and is currently practiced in only a handful of locations around the globe. In Hawaii dives are lead weekly just a short boat ride off the shore. However after arriving to the dive zone it usually still takes a while for someone to summon the courage to get in from the fear of the unknown below them.
This fear of the unknown has caused many to speak out saying that this type of diving should be avoided because there are so many potentially dangerous sea creatures that you may encounter and there is evidence of these encounters. The author gives an explanation of why he doesn't fear Blackwater Diving any more than regular writing how in reality we come in contact with just as many highly dangerous animals during the daytime when diving and just as in the light they are normally scared of us.Photographer Jeff Milisen is who gathered the data and he makes the claim that really what causes the fear of Blackwater Diving is really just the fear of so much that we are unfamiliar with.
I really enjoy this article in relation to biology because it goes beyond just looking at and studying things in a lab and takes us to what biology really is, it shows us life in its different forms. After all that what biology is all about, teaching us how life itself keeps functioning and with so many things that we still dont know in the ocean its really cool to see that we have access to some of that and that we have only scratched the surface with the studies so far.
That is awesome, my uncle and aunt just got back from Hawaii and did this dive! it sounds amazing!
ReplyDeleteThis is an awesome post! I agree with you 100% with what is said in your last paragraph, about how it shows us what biology really is. I remember when I first snorkeled, and didn't see any exotic fish really. As an avid fisher, I remember thinking after that maybe it's not a typical high activity time for fish, maybe it's the quality of the water where i'm at, or as you commented, maybe it's because it's day time and they are scared of me. It would be interesting to see more exotic fish in these specific locations around the globe, especially in "blackwater"!
ReplyDeleteJoshuaR
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ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting topic that you chose. I went scuba diving once and I loved it. The deep sea has always been something of a mystery, and if we are able to see the creatures that live in those areas with basic scuba gear, I feel that we should take full advantage of it. I'd like to try this myself someday.
ReplyDeleteTyler Dorny
This was an amazing post, the deep sea has always been something that has intrigued me. There is many unknown creatures that lurk beyond what we can see and have discovered. I understand why some might fear for the safety of trained scuba divers who dive at these specific locations to investigate more, it brings to mind if there has been any reported deaths or injuries caused by creatures in the deep sea? and if so how many? It would be great to be able to contrast the two, and come to a conclusion about how to better protect our divers against dangerous creatures that are found deep below the sea. The more our divers are protected the more we will be able to discover what lies below the oceans surfaces. -EM
ReplyDeleteIn regards to your question, Washington Post says that the average number of scuba diver deaths is 16.4 per 100,000 registered divers. There are roughly 3 million registered divers in the United States.
DeleteNow, it did not go into breaking this down as to what the deaths were caused from. I feel like this is a fairly large amount of deaths though.
-JK
This is a very interesting post because of all the things we don't know about the animals that live deep in the ocean. I love scuba diving and have always been interested in the different biological mutations that the fish or other animals have done to adapt to living in such a dark environment. As we continue to search for more answers I think we will be surprised with what we find. Something that has always interested be about animals deep in the ocean is how they deal with the huge amounts of pressure. I think if we were able to understand how they deal with pressure at such deep depths, maybe we would be able to learn how we could explore deeper into the oceans.
ReplyDelete-Austin Richards
I found this post very interesting because of the ocean. The ocean his huge and there is so much unknown. I wonder if one day we will have the technology go dive or even see miles under the water with zero light. As with a lot of the comments above I've had the chance to scuba dive multiple times over in Hawaii and its a different experience every time. You always notice things you didn't notice before. It's interesting that there is so much we don't know about our own planet, but thats whats great about science is we continue to discover and learn.
ReplyDelete-Jaden Adams
This is such a cool post! I loved hearing about how scientist actually went out and learned about animals. Its amazing to think that instead of having to take extra time and money to learn about a ecosystem that for some things all you need to do is wait a few hours for those species to show themselves. I do see the dangers of this kind of research but Van Gogh said "The fishermen knows the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they never found these dangers sufficient reasons to stay ashore."
ReplyDeleteP.H.
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