What are adaptations of deep-sea life to cold and high pressure?
Resources: 11 Clues: Similar to the adaptations for polar life in that deep-sea animals tend to have slow metabolic rates, movement, and very long life-spans. They are usually large compared to related shallow-water organisms. An interesting adaptation of some deep-sea animals is a lack of an internal skeleton, because of the relatively acidic water and high pressure. Another effect of high pressure is that it tends to increase metabolic rates for given temperatures, because of changes in enzyme activity. I don’t know how microbial life would be affected, though. Q: What are some characteristics of life at hydrothermal vents? Resources: 11, 12, 17 Clues: Compared to their deep-sea kin, vent animals often grow very rapidly; giant vent clams grow 500 times faster than non-vent deep-sea clams (11). They can also rapidly regenerate. To compensate for less oxygen, some vent animals have high concentrations of hemoglobin in their tissues, the same substance that makes our blood red. At the b
