Viewing Animals In Antarctica

The southernmost animal that has ever been known to live is the tiny pink mite native to Antarctica/ This little critter that looks a lot like a spider likes to eat algae and fungi. A Hawaiian museum entomologist located this mite only a short time ago, as close as 309 miles to the South Pole. This same scientist also found lichens only 266 miles from the Pole. That's as close to the Pole as life has ever been found.

Insects and insect-type life forms are the only kind of animals that live year-round on Antarctica. To find the over 56 species of arthropods that live on Antarctica, you?ll need some kind of magnification. The biggest is a wingless fly that is about the same size as a horsefly. Lying dormant until the air reaches 32 degrees Fahrenheit, they then become active.

The great blue whale and many diverse creatures make the waters around Antarctica their home. This is the opposite of life on land. Wanting to learn more about life in the ocean, scientist submerged a six by four foot capsule. As they took turns, the scientists watched the sea life around them through six windows. They could even hear the life beneath the waters because they installed a hydrophone.

A giant jelly fish passed by, with 30 foot tentacles. Not many other fish were seen. Curious seals approached the chamber, and often inspected it as they passed by to go to an air-hole. Via the hydrophone, the scientists could hear the seals buzzing, chirping and whistling. This underwater cacophony was a first for at least one scientist.

The noises, created by the Weddell seals, could be used for sonar navigation and as a means of communication. This theory would help us understand how the seals are able to find places to surface for air and food in the dark of the Antarctic. The recordings of seal sounds are being carefully researched. With too high of frequency, and too rapid of a pulse, some sounds can?t be made out by human ears.

Science has yet to figure out how the Weddell seals make these sounds. Their nostrils and mouths are kept tightly shut when they go underwater. Weddell seals have been recorded diving up to 1500 feet in depth. This is the farthest any mammal has ever been officially recorded as diving. They can also submerge themselves for long periods. One stayed under for over 28 minutes. A zoologist was able to collect a sample of mother's milk from a Weddell seal. This milk is extremely high in fat, and allows baby seals to gain weight very rapidly. Newborn seals can multiply their weight five times in just six weeks.

The Antarctic seas have been traversed time and time again by wetsuited scientists. The ocean floor hosts lots of multi-hued seaweed, including red. Five foot long worms, four foot sponges and big red and white starfish were also there.

-->