Hello up there Emily!
Do you realize we are almost directly south of you!
We have moved on in learning about "the transfer of energy through ecosystems" to "creature interaction and interdependence" My students will be drawing their understanding of how creatures interact and depend on each other so I immediately thought of you and what you are studying in the benthos.
Could you post some pictures of creatures that stir up the benthos? With the big algae bloom happening and then burning itself out in such a short period of time, I want to impress on the students the importance of the nutrients cycling. Do crabs do that? Have you collected any small crabs or crab larvae that might be digging around in the benthos? Do you pull up any evidence of creature presence when you are 3000 meters deep?
What ice algae genera are they seeing right now? Have any ice algae 'corpses' been dredged up from the bottom?
One more thing, can you think of any creature that relies on chemosynthesis instead of photosynthesis in your area of the Bering Sea?
Thank you so much for answering whatever you can. Me and the students appreciate it so much!
Hear comes a big hug of warm aloha your way!
warmly,
Maggie