Download Marine Life Zones - Sonoma Valley High School

DIVERSITY & PRODUCTIVITY OF
OCEAN LIFE
Classification of Marine Organisms
 Classification is a way of organizing
living things
 Things that live in the ocean are called
marine organism
 Marine organisms can be classified
according to where they live and how
they move.
Plankton
Plankton include all organisms—algae, animals, and
bacteria—that drift with ocean currents.
Nekton
Nekton include all animals capable of moving
independently of the ocean currents, by swimming or other
means of propulsion.
Pair share: name 2 types of animals, other than what
is shown here, that would be considered nekton.
Benthos
Benthos describes organisms living on or in the ocean
bottom.
Pair share: name 2 types of animals, other than what
is shown here, that would be considered benthos.
Marine Life Zones
 Three factors are used to
divide the ocean into
distinct marine life zones:
 the availability of
sunlight
 the distance from
shore
 the water depth.
Distance from Shore
• Intertidal zone is the strip of land where the land &
ocean meet & overlap the zone between high and low
tides.
• Neritic zone is the marine-life zone that extends from
the low-tide line out to the shelf break.
• Oceanic zone is the marine-life zone beyond the
continental shelf.
Marine Life Zones
Pair share: which zone do you think is the largest?
Water Depth
•
Pelagic zone - open zone of any depth.
Animals in this zone swim or float freely.
• Photic zone – 0-200m, upper part of the
ocean into which sunlight penetrates.
• Benthic zone - 200-1,500 m deep, dimly lit.
• Abyssal zone – below 1,500 m, high
pressures, low temperatures, low oxygen,
few nutrients, and no sunlight.
Hydrothermal Vents
o
• At some vents, water temperatures of 100 C or
higher support communities of organisms found
nowhere else in the world.
Oceanic Productivity
 Productivity is the amount of food/ energy
produced by plants, algae, and bacteria
 Productivity varies in different parts of the ocean
depending upon the availability of sunlight and
nutrients.
Comparing Productivity
 Polar Oceans: the lack of solar energy limits productivity
 Tropical Oceans: the lack of nutrients limits productivity.
 Temperate Oceans: a combination of sunlight &
nutrients allows these regions to be more productive.
Pair share:
how does
productivity
off the coast
of CA
compare to
the midPacific?
WHITE BOARD
REVIEW
1. Name the 3
classifications of
marine life.
2. What are the 3 factors
used to divide marine
life zones?
3. Name 2 factors that
limit ocean
productivity.