Demersal zone

Being just above the ocean floor, the demersal zone is variable in depth and can be part of the photic zone where light can penetrate, and photosynthetic organisms grow, or the aphotic zone, which begins between depths of roughly 200 and 1,000 m (700 and 3,300 ft) and extends to the ocean depths, where no light penetrates.

Fish

The distinction between demersal species of fish and pelagic species is not always clear cut. The Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) is a typical demersal fish, but can also be found in the open water column, and the Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) is predominantly a pelagic species but forms large aggregations near the seabed when it spawns on banks of gravel.

Two types of fish inhabit the demersal zone: those that are heavier than water and rest on the seabed, and those that have neutral buoyancy and remain just above the substrate. In many species of fish, neutral buoyancy is maintained by a gas-filled swim bladder which can be expanded or contracted as the circumstances require. A disadvantage of this method is that adjustments need to be made constantly as the water pressure varies when the fish swims higher and lower in the water column. An alternative buoyancy aid is the use of lipids, which are less dense than water—squalene, commonly found in shark livers, has a specific gravity of just 0.86. In the velvet belly lanternshark (Etmopterus spinax), a benthopelagic species, 17% of the bodyweight is liver of which 70% are lipids. Benthic rays and skates have smaller livers with lower concentrations of lipids; they are therefore denser than water and they do not swim continuously, intermittently resting on the seabed. Some fish have no buoyancy aids but use their pectoral fins which are so angled as to give lift as they swim. The disadvantage of this is that, if they stop swimming, the fish sink, and they cannot hover, or swim backwards.

Demersal fish have various feeding strategies; many feed on zooplankton or organisms or algae on the seabed; some of these feed on epifauna (invertebrates on top of the seafloor), while others specialise on infauna (invertebrates that burrow beneath the seafloor). Others are scavengers, eating the dead remains of plants or animals, while still others are predators.