It’s pitch black, freezing cold, and there is crushing pressure all around you. It sounds like some kind of alien planet, but it’s actually one of the least explored places on Earth… the Southern Ocean seafloor, around 3000 metres below the surface!
Ever since I was young, I’ve wondered what kinds of creatures live deep in the ocean. I was so fascinated by it that I decided to study them! I study animals that live on or near the seafloor, called benthic organisms, and the environmental factors that may influence where they are found. My favourite deep-sea animals are the ones that look like creepy crawlies, which I study using special traps deployed all the way down on the ocean floor. What will your favourite deep-sea creature be?
It may not seem like a very nice place to live, considering how cold and dark it is, but the animals that call the deep ocean home have incredible ways of surviving. Some glow, some scavenge, and some look like they belong on another planet! Get ready to learn about the strange animals living far beneath the sunny surface, all the way down to the abyssal zone. Together, we’ll explore who lives down there, where they are found, what they look like, and why they are so wonderfully wacky.
I completed a Bachelor of Wildlife Science at The University of Queensland and am currently studying for a Master of Marine and Antarctic Science at the University of Tasmania. Next, I hope to continue exploring the deep ocean through a PhD!
