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Dead alligators dropped deep into the sea lead to a surprising find
cnet.com ^ | January 11, 2020 | Bonnie Burton

Posted on 01/11/2020 4:07:38 PM PST by Berlin_Freeper

Alligators don't typically swim, or die, in the ocean. But researchers dropped three of them, dead ones, underwater to see how deep-sea creatures would react to finding a new and unusual food source.

The dead-alligator experiment was aimed at better understanding underwater food systems. Edibles like phytoplankton and other plant life don't exist on the deep-sea floor, so dwellers down there must sustain themselves by eating "marine snow" -- animal waste, scraps of decaying creatures and other organic debris that drifts from above.

Because alligators sometimes find themselves in ocean waters, searching for new food sources or flushed there by a hurricane, the scientists wanted to see if deep-sea creatures would nibble on the dead gators, or ignore them.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnet.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Education; Science
KEYWORDS: alligators; grantmoneywaste; ocean; wildlife
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To: Berlin_Freeper

I like how you know the fish is dead by the “X” on the eye.


41 posted on 01/11/2020 5:17:39 PM PST by TangoLimaSierra (To the Left, The Truth is Right Wing Extremism.)
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To: dljordan; Ed Condon
“Elk in Kentucky?” They’ve sighted Elk in Tennessee.

And here in N. Georgia.

42 posted on 01/11/2020 5:19:51 PM PST by TangoLimaSierra (To the Left, The Truth is Right Wing Extremism.)
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To: Buttons12
Why didn’t they drop a camera down there while they were at it?

So that they have a follow-up reason to repeat this experiment and get another grant in 2020...gotta always be thinking about the next grant.

43 posted on 01/11/2020 5:22:00 PM PST by DoodleBob (Gravity's waiting period is about 9.8 m/s^2)
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To: Cowboy Bob

The ocean made the alligator disappear post-haste. Just like anything else dead in the ocean.


44 posted on 01/11/2020 5:24:26 PM PST by GingisK
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To: heavy metal
a good experiment to try with live demonrats...

That made me laugh and reminded me of something they say in DC. I'll alter it a little to go along with your thought.

The only way to lose a political career in DC is to get caught with a live (underage) girl or a dead democrat. (or a live one)

Doh! Kellyanne Conway is in trouble!

45 posted on 01/11/2020 5:25:07 PM PST by Boomer ('Democrat' is now synonymous with 'corrupt')
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To: Berlin_Freeper

Did not know there are 10k Elk in Kentucky.


46 posted on 01/11/2020 5:25:40 PM PST by Deaf Smith (When a Texan takes his chances, chances will be taken that's fore sure)
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To: Ed Condon

Wild boar in Congress?


47 posted on 01/11/2020 5:25:40 PM PST by GingisK
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To: dljordan; Ed Condon

Some of the Tennessee elk probably came from the herd that runs around here...coastal Oregon. They got pretty thick, and they trapped some, and sent them East.


48 posted on 01/11/2020 5:27:36 PM PST by gundog ( Hail to the Chief, bitches!)
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To: OKSooner

They found Dexter’s victims and murder weapons.


49 posted on 01/11/2020 5:29:57 PM PST by Rastus
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To: Westbrook

Probably cost next to nothing. These people are out in the gulf anyway doing regular checks of the ecosystem as part of their charter with the state. The people involved are already being paid through other sources. The carcasses were probably provided for free from the DNR.


50 posted on 01/11/2020 5:30:47 PM PST by Kirkwood (Zombie Hunter)
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To: Ed Condon

We have Elk in Oklahoma....


51 posted on 01/11/2020 5:34:54 PM PST by Osage Orange (Whiskey Tango Foxtrot)
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To: Berlin_Freeper

Strange, I never felt it odd that I could catch crabs using chicken parts.


52 posted on 01/11/2020 5:44:02 PM PST by VeniVidiVici (Vote Democrat? Loser)
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To: nuconvert

::The fuzz was a newly discovered species of bone eating worms::

~~~~~

How cool.


53 posted on 01/11/2020 5:50:15 PM PST by Bigg Red (WWG1WGA)
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To: Buttons12
Why didn’t they drop a camera down there while they were at it?

They did. If you click on the article you'll see several photos and a video taken under water of the alligators.

54 posted on 01/11/2020 5:51:49 PM PST by Inyo-Mono
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To: Ed Condon

Seems to me that approaching an elk in the dark on the road in your speeding automobile could be a bigger problem than approaching a deer under similar circumstances.


55 posted on 01/11/2020 5:52:52 PM PST by Western Phil
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To: Ed Condon

Well, there’s an Elkton in Todd County, KY. Named for elk?


56 posted on 01/11/2020 6:02:05 PM PST by Verginius Rufus
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To: Repeal The 17th
"Should I apply for a grant to see what happens when you drop dead fish in the desert?"

IMHO, dropping live communists (ie. all registered demoncrats) or migrant invaders into the middle of the Sahara desert would be a more relevant & cost-effective study...

It would be a variation of what President Duterte of the Philippines does from a helicopter with raghead jihadists and drug dealers...

57 posted on 01/11/2020 6:02:53 PM PST by SuperLuminal (Where is Sam Adams now that we desperately need him)
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To: Repeal The 17th

Don’t know who’s idea it was, but I would love to see dead democrat congress critter’s submerged, bet the critter eating fish would clear out.


58 posted on 01/11/2020 6:04:25 PM PST by cabbieguy ("I suppose it will all make sense when we grow up")
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To: Ed Condon
"Elk in Kentucky?"

They were reintroduced into KY in 1997. KY now has the largest elk herd east of the Mississippi at around 11,000 elk.

59 posted on 01/11/2020 6:19:00 PM PST by Flag_This (Liberals are locusts.)
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To: freedumb2003

Return of the giant Gator!


60 posted on 01/11/2020 6:30:46 PM PST by TribalPrincess2U (0bama's agenda�Divide and conquer seems to be working.?)
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