THE BATHY PAGE 
by DR. A. A. MILLS 
Assistant Professor, Institute of Oceanography 
Dalhousie University 
Halifax, Nova Scotia 
ABSTRACT 
A design study for an apparatus to 
obtain living specimens of the bathypela- 
gic fauna, 
INTRODUCTION AND PREVIOUS WORK 
It has for long been recognised that 
possession and maintenance of living speci- 
mens of the bathypelagic fauna would greatly 
aid investigation of orientation, sensiti- 
vity to light, sound production, biolumine- 
scence, and other characteristics of these 
little-known inhabitants of the deep sea. 
So far, most investigators have fol- 
lowed methods originated on_the 'Challenger! 
IBlake'® and ‘Michael Sars'3 expeditions, 
using bottom and mid-water trawl nets. 
Although improvements in the construction 
png ee of this equipment have been made, 
929° examination of the literature dis- 
closes few attempts to devise alternative 
or supplementary methods for collection of 
acta organisms other than the plankton 
98,9. The researches of H.S.H. Prince 
Albert I of Monaco on the new, and some- 
times gigantic, squid and cuttlefish found 
in the stomach of the sperm-whale are well 
known-~ : less familiar is his use of large, 
baited traps ("nasse") and submarine elec- 
tric lamps to obtain specimens from below 
1000 metre'y!*"*Quite recently, ISAACS and 
SCHICK have successfully attached similar 
traps to deep-sea free instrument vehiclest4. 
Cameras9»15 and television® have been 
used to record underwater life, and marine 
biologists have themselves descended in 
bathysphere! or bathyscaphe!7,16,19 to 
observe and photograph the indigenous 
fauna20-23, Attempts to use baited hooks 
or a wire trap to capture specimens SHE 16 
from these vehicles were unsuccessful-~?"~? 
- Thus, the only living examples of the 
bathypelagic fauna which have been studied 
under laboratory conditions ares- 
i) Species able to rise Taaraay, to the 
surface; often at night Or piece 
some stage of their life-cycle P 
ii) Those cast up by natural phenomena a) 
iii) Representatives of certain species which 
have survived trawling from deep water 
16, 26, 28, 29,30. 
It is generally believed that the abrupt change 
in temperature, together with abrasion in the 
net, is of more importance than the decrease 
in hydrostatic pressure in causing the heavy 
mortality associated with deep-sea trawling 
16, 28, 31, 32 However, this hypothesis may 
need qualification in view of N. B. MARSHALL'S 
recent identification of well-developed yes 
bladders in many genera of deep-sea fish@>33, 
It appears that the swimbladder is absent in 
those bathypelagic forms centred below the 
1000 m level, but is present in many species 
above this depth, and re-occurs in numerous 
benthic species found near the sea-floor far 
below-". 
There is, therefore, a need for apparatus 
which will enable living specimens of the 
bathypelagic pane to be captured and recovered 
without injury? ,» and with minimum disturbance 
of their normal environment. This requirement 
has been recognized for many years“ >>, but 
little appears to have been achieved. 
The Bathypage 
This paper reviews some possible methods 
for the realisation of such apparatus, which 
would appear to be best met by development 
of the trap, rather than the net, concept. 
The name 'bathypage' is proposed for the 
"Superior numbers refer to similarly numbered references at the end of this paper". 
