Title: Bait Cans in the Deep Sea Category: Biology Subcategory: Difficulty: Unknown Year 2004 Bowl: Shore Bowl Author: C. Grant Law Contact info: ext 310 IMCS, Rutgers University 71 Dudley Rd. New Brunswick, NJ 08901

QUESTION Round:Time: 2 minutesStandard/Category: Biology QUESTION: Back in the 60’s John Isaacs performed a series of experiments where he lowered a can of bait hung under an automated camera to the deep sea floor. Despite the assumed scarcity of fish in the deep sea, the camera recorded large numbers of fish visiting the bait. Almost immediately the eel-like hag fish arrived, writhing around and distributing slime liberally about the bait can. Later, grenadiers and sablefish would begin to arrive. Occasionally the bait cans would even be visited by enormous 6 meter long sleeper sharks 1)What is the ecological term for animals which feed on carrion? (5 points) 2) What do you suppose these fish feed on when they can’t find bait cans? (5 points) 3) What important ecological characteristic of a species can be inferred by the amount of time it takes them to arrive at the bait can? (10 points)

ANSWER Round:Time: 2 minutesStandard/Category: Biology QUESTION/ANSWERS: 1)What is the ecological term for animals which feed on carrion? (5 points) ANSWER:- Scavengers 2) What do you suppose these fish feed on when they can’t find bait cans? (5 points) ANSWER:- Dead fish, arthropods, birds, mammals or reptiles which sink from shallower waters. 3) What important ecological characteristic of a species can be inferred by the amount of time it takes them to arrive at the bait can? (10 points) ANSWER:- Density. A very sparsley distributed species will, on average, take longer to stumble upon a bait can than a more common species. Sumich, JL, An Introduction to the Biology of Marine Life. Wm. C. Brown Publishers. (Fig. 11.8)