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Creatures of the Deep by Erich Hoyt: book review



Creatures of the Deep: In Search of the Sea’s Monsters and the World They Live In (2014) is the author’s second edition – updated and expanded – about the creatures living in deep ocean waters. 

 

Hoyt begins at the bottom of the sea following sperm whales taking a deep dive in search of squid. Deep sea exploration has been made possible due to mini-submarines, spotlights, underwater video cams, and hydrophones (microphones). From the bottom to the surface, he takes readers on a tour of the extraordinary diversity of fish and invertebrates in the sea. From large creatures, such as jellyfish, sharks, and whales to the smallest creatures, such as bioluminescence (the light originating from living aimals and plants) to aquatic insects. 

 

He discusses the importance of light for planktonic growth in the euphotic (well lit) zone. He talks about the pressure, salinity, currents, and temperatures at different depths, to the middle seas of the disphotic (away from the light) zone, and the adaptations of bathypelagic (deep sea) creatures that live in the depth of darkness. Even headless creatures!

 

The extremes of the sea reveal amazing creatures within it. Accompanied with coloured photographs, Hoyt sets the information within a journey through the history of deep sea exploration into trenches more than 20,000 feet beneath the surface.

 

This is a fascinating book with wonderful photographs in an easy-to-read and easy-to-understand format.









 

 

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MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author  of: The Paris Residences of James Joyce  (2020), Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

  

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