Question

Research by Andrew Sweetman of Norway’s International Research Institute of Stavanger focused on whether or not deep-sea scavengers consume dead jellyfish. His team lowered platforms piled with dead jellyfish and other platforms piled with dead mackerel more than 4000 feet into Norway’s largest fjord, and they found that hagfish, crabs, and other scavengers consumed the jellyfish in a few hours—faster than they consumed the mackerel. Explain why it was necessary to include platforms containing mackerel in the experiment, even though the study was focused on the consumption of jellyfish.

Answer 1

In Andrew Sweetman's research, platforms containing mackerel served as a control group to measure the preference of deep-sea scavengers for consuming jellyfish compared to other potential food sources such as mackerel, indicating the jellyfish's role in the diet of these scavengers and their place in the marine ecosystem.

Step-by-step explanation:

Research by Andrew Sweetman focused on deep-sea scavengers and their consumption of dead jellyfish. In this study, platforms with dead mackerel were included as a control group. A control group is crucial in an experiment as it helps to compare the effects of the variable being tested, allowing researchers to determine if a particular outcome is a result of the variable itself or some other factor. In Sweetman's research, the presence of mackerel provided a baseline for comparison, showing that deep-sea scavengers, such as hagfish and crabs, preferentially consumed jellyfish faster than mackerel. This suggests that jellyfish forms a significant and attractive part of the diet for these scavengers.

The biology of such scavengers such as the hagfish, which are eel-like and feed on dead invertebrates and fish, indicates specialized adaptations like slime defense mechanism, keratinized teeth and feeding structures allowing them to feed efficiently. Understanding these animals' dietary preferences helps to elucidate their role in the marine ecosystem as part of the decomposition process and nutrient recycling.