What happens when you drop a dead alligator in the darkest depths of the Gulf of Mexico?

It's not a question that has plagued many scientists, but it has plagued at least one - Craig McClain, a marine biologist and executive director of the Louisiana University Marine Consortium in Cocodrie.

McClain wanted to see what unfolded if he introduced a rare calorie-rich reptile to the abyssal seafloor, a dark and nearly lifeless place with little food for the few critters dwelling there.

So last month, McClain and a team of LUMCON researchers plopped three adult alligator carcasses, each seven to eig...