Baby bloom in the deep sea: Survival strategies from the seafloor to the ocean surface and back

Deep-sea animals have adapted a variety of ways to promote the survival of their young. The babies often come in unusual shapes and sizes, exhibiting features not seen in the adult form. Surprisingly, many larval and juvenile stages of bottom-dwelling species develop in the open ocean; they may disperse long distances along coastlines to decrease resource competition with adult populations or to keep far out of the reach of hungry seafloor predators. Deep-sea babies can look and live very differently from their parents to enhance their chance of survival and may even journey from the seafloor to the surface and back again. Animals in order of appearance: - A mother squid (family Gonatidae) cradles an egg case in her arms as she glides through the midnight zone waters. Carrying the growing embryos inhibits her ability to feed, and she will likely die soon after the babies hatch.