Animal Watching in the Antarctic

You'd be surprised that the farthest southern rosetta stone software
living animal is actually a pink mite. This tiny creature is only 1/100th of an inch long. Spider-like, this tiny life forms eats fungi and algae. Imagine the delight a scientist from Hawaii felt when he found the pink mite living a mere 309 miles from the South Pole. This same scientist found lichens growing 266 miles from the Pole, which is the nearest any living thing has ever been found. Recently a magazine article claimed that insects and their relatives are the only kind of animal that can live their entire lives on Antarctica. Though over 56 species of arthropod have been recorded on Antarctica, you'll not be able to see them with just your eyes. One insect you could easily see is about the size of a common horsefly. It's a wingless fly. Their lives are paused until the air temperatures reach 32 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the freezing point of water, and they resume their daily activities. The waters surrounding the continent are starkly different than the land. They are bustling with life from microscopic shrimp to the blue whale, which is the largest living being on the planet. Wanting to learn more about life in the ocean, scientist submerged a six by four foot capsule. There were six windows available to look into the surrounding waters. The scientists took turns in the water. They even included a hydrophone so that they could hear what was going on in the water around them. Though there weren't a lot of fish to be seen, there was a jelly fish that sported tentacles of up to thirty feet in length. The chamber did attract the attention of local seals, who surfaced at a nearby ice hole and looked at the chamber itself. The various seal sounds filled the hydrophone. Scientists recorded buzzes, beeps, chirps, and whistles. This was an underwater racket one scientist hadn't heard previously. Perhaps they make the noises to communicate with each other and find their way in the cold, dark waters. The navigation theory could help scientists understand how the seals can find holes to surface for air and food in the dark, cold Antarctic waters. Seal sounds are being investigated. Because they are outside our hearing range, some of the sounds can't be detected by humans. Scientists aren't even sure how the seals make these sounds. To remain airtight underwater, they shut their mouths and nostrils. Using depth Learn Spanish
gauges, scientists have watched Weddell seals dive down to 1500 feet in depth. This is a mammalian record. Another seal stayed underwater for over 28 minutes before it needed to breathe. One mother seal yielded a sample of mother's milk to a zoologist. Seal milk has a much higher fat ratio than human milk does. This is one of the reasons that baby seals can gain weight more quickly than any other mammal. In the space of a month and a half, a baby seal can grow fourfold. With special diving suits, the seas around Antarctica have been investigated by scientists. Colorful seaweeds, including red ones, filled the ocean's bottom. They also found red and white species of starfish, five foot long worms and sponges that measured four feet in diameter.