Life in the Open Ocean
The Biology of Pelagic Species
Joseph J. Torres
Professor Emeritus
University of South Florida, College of Marine Science
St. Petersburg, FL, USA
Thomas G. Bailey
Center Director (retired)
Caribbean Marine Research Center
Jupiter, FL, USA
This edition first published 2022
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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data
Names: Torres, Joseph J., 1950– author. | Bailey, Thomas G., 1945– author. | Wiley‐Blackwell (Firm), publisher.
Title: Life in the open ocean : the biology of pelagic species / Joseph J Torres, Thomas G Bailey.
Description: Hoboken, NJ : Wiley‐Blackwell, 2022. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021021994 (print) | LCCN 2021021995 (ebook) | ISBN 9781405145299 (cloth) | ISBN 9781119840305 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119840312 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Marine biology. | Oceanography.
Classification: LCC QH91 .T67 2022 (print) | LCC QH91 (ebook) | DDC 577.7–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021021994 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021021995
Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Image: © Danté Fenolio
From JJT – To my family, near and far – especially mom and dad and my lovely wife Linda for her incredible patience with me and our other family member: the book.
From TGB – To my lovely wife, Jan for her love and support through the years.
From Both of Us
To our mentors, Charlotte Mangum, Jim Childress, George Somero, and Bruce Robison, a constant source of inspiration to this day.
And especially to Linda M. Torres, our gatekeeper, editor, and Angel of Detail, for keeping us on the straight and narrow, and without whom this book would still be “in preparation.”
Preface
Most of the planet earth (over 60% of it) is deep ocean. Within the oceanic realm are two basic ecosystems, the ocean bottom, a two‐dimensional environment containing creatures that creep, crawl, burrow, or lie in wait for prey, and the immense, three‐dimensional pelagic region that lies above it, the largest living space on the planet, containing the swimmers and drifters. The