Joseph J. Torres is Emeritus Professor of Marine Science, College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St Petersburg, FL, USA. He is an internationally-renowned marine biologist with research interests in the physiological ecology of the deep- and open-oceanic realms.
Thomas G. Bailey is retired director of NOAA's Caribbean Marine Research Center following a long career in deep-ocean science at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution as head of the Department of Zooplankton Ecology. He is a highly respected in-situ marine scientist known for innovative techniques in capturing and experimenting with delicate sea creatures at great depth.

1. PHYSICS AND THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
THE VASTNESS OF THE OPEN OCEAN
THE PROPERTIES OF WATER
TEMPERATURE
THE OCEANS AND OCEAN BASINS
OXYGEN
PRESSURE
SOUND
LIGHT
TRADITIONAL DEPTH ZONES IN THE OCEAN
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
2. PHYSIOLOGICAL ACCOMMODATION TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES
TEMPERATURE
PRESSURE
OXYGEN
SALINITY
DEPTH
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
3. THE CNIDARIA
INTRODUCTION
CLASSIFICATION
PHYLUM CNIDARIA
THE HYDROMEDUSAE
THE SCYPHOMEDUSAE
THE CUBOMEDUSAE
FORAGING STRATEGIES
LOCOMOTION
THE SIPHONOPHORES
THE CNIDARIA FORMERLY KNOWN AS CHONDROPHORA
4. CTENOPHORA
INTRODUCTION
CLASSIFICATION
CTENOPHORE BASICS
MORPHOLOGY
FORAGING STRATEGIES
CTENOPHORES AS INVASIVE SPECIES
DIGESTION
NERVES AND SENSE ORGANS: COORDINATION AND CONDUCTION
LOCOMOTION
DISTRIBUTION
CTENOPHORES AND EVOLUTION
5. NEMERTEA
INTRODUCTION
CLASSIFICATION
MORPHOLOGY
NERVOUS SYSTEM
CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
EXCRETORY SYSTEM
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
REPRODUCTION
FORAGING STRATEGIES
VERTICAL AND GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTIONS
6. ANNELIDA
INTRODUCTION
HISTORY
CLASSIFICATION
PHYLUM ANNELIDA
MORPHOLOGY
EXTRETORY SYSTEM
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
GAS EXCHANGE
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
REPRODUCTION
LOCOMOTION
FORAGING STRATEGIES
DISTRIBUTIONS
BIOLUMINESCENCE
7. CRUSTACEA
INTRODUCTION
ARTHROPOD CLASSIFICATION
PANARTHROPODAN PHYLA
SYNOPSIS OF UNIVERSAL ARTHROPOD CHARACTERISTICS
THE CRUSTACEA
SUBPHYLUM CRUSTACEA
CRUSTACEAN SYSTEMS
INTEGUMENT AND MOLTING
JOINTS AND APPENDAGES
EXCRETORY SYSTEM
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND SENSORY MECHANISMS
CIRCULATORY AND RESPIRATORY SYSTEMS
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
BASIC DEVELOPMENT
THE MICRONEKTONIC CRUSTACEA
THE PELAGIC EUCARIDA
8. MOLLUSCA
INTRODUCTION
CLASSIFICATION
PHYLUM MOLLUSCA
THE GASTROPODA
CLASSIFICATION
CLASS GASTROPODA
TRADITIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF THE PELAGIC GASTROPODA
GASTROPOD SYSTEMS AND STRUCTURES
THE PELAGIC GASTROPODS: ANATOMY AND HABITS
THE CEPHALOPODS
CLASSIFICATION
BASIC ANATOMY OF THE MAJOR CEPHALOPOD GROUPS
CEPHALOPOD SYSTEMS
9. THE CHORDATA
INTRODUCTION
DEUTEROSTOMES AND THE PHYLOGENETIC TOOLKIT
CLASSIFICATION
SUBPHYLUM TUNICATA
BASIC ANATOMY AND LIFE HISTORY
TUNICATE SYSTEMS
10. THE FISHES
INTRODUCTION
THE DEEP SEA GROUPS
A BRIEF HISTORY OF FISHES
THE CLASSES OF LIVING FISHES
FISH SYSTEMS
BASIC ANATOMY
FEEDING AND DIGESTION
CIRCULATION, RESPIRATION, AND EXCRETION
CIRCULATION
GAS EXCHANGE IN THE TELEOSTS AND ELASMOBRANCHS
NITROGEN EXCRETION
OSMOTIC AND IONIC REGULATION
LOCOMOTION
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
SENSORY MECHANISMS
CAMOUFLAGE, BIOLUMINESCENCE, PHOTOPHORES
11. COMMUNITIES
INTRODUCTION
THE GULF OF MEXICO
THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CURRENT
THE ANTARCTIC
SYSTEM COMPARISONS
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS
PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL FACTORS THAT CHANGE
12. ENERGETICS
INTRODUCTION
A MODEL ENERGY BUDGET
DIGESTIBILITY OF BIOMOLECULES
ENERGY VALUE OF BIOMOLECULES
MEASURING METABOLIC RATE
LIFE HISTORY STRATEGIES
METABOLISM AND COMPOSITION OF PELAGIC SPECIES
CONCLUSIONS