Download Marine Ecosystems

Ocean Life
 Ocean life consists of:
 Benthos
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Plants/animals live on ocean bottom (kelp, sponges, worms,
algea, snails, starfish)
 Plankton

Small and microscopic organisms move with currents (krill,
some crustaceans, protozoa, jellyfish
 Nekton

Swimming animals! (fish, whales, eels, shrimp, octopus,
sharks)
Benthos
Plankton
Nekton
Oceanic Life
So…is it benthos, plankton, or
nekton?
Which one is it?
Which one is it?
Ocean Ecosystems
 Three zones:
 Intertidal
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Shoreline area between high and low tide mark
Organisms have many adaptations
 Neritic
 Slopes down from the edge of the shoreline toward ocean
floor until 200 meters.
 Environment (salinity/temperature) is constant
 Contains coral reefs and upwelling process
 Oceanic
 Deepest part of ocean…high pressure, low temperature,
absence of light
Intertidal Zone
 http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/tdc02_vid_inte
rtidal/
Neritic Zone
 Two ecosystems
 Coral reef = limestone deposit formed from coral shells;
they develop in warm, shallow areas of neritic zone
 Kelp forests = kelp are large brown algae that attach to
the sea floor and grow upwards; they develop in deeper
colder areas of neritic zone coral reef
 Upwelling = movement of nutrient-rich waters from
deep ocean into shallow areas
 This occurs when winds blow warm surface waters away
from the shore
 Upwelling
Oceanic Zone





Open waters of the ocean
The sun can only penetrate 200 m
Consists of whales, fish, squid, jellyfish, and krill
The floor is called the abyss
Deeper areas of the ocean have characteristics of
 High pressure
 Cold temperatures
 Absence of light
 Hydrothermal vents along with communities are
located in deep areas of the ocean
Deep sea hydrothermal vents
 Consist of cracks in the ocean crust that release
nutrient-rich minerals
 These vents are very hot, heated by the Earth’s core
 Bacteria live around these vents
 They are chemosynthetic producers
 Deep sea vents and life's origins
Estuaries
 These are ecosystems where fresh water from rivers
meets saltwater from the ocean
 Great area for fish, shrimp, crabs, and other shellfish
 Why?
Additional Stuff
 GIS
 Coral Reefs
 life around hydrothermal vents
 Where are coral reefs located?
 A. in the oceanic zone
 B. in estuaries
 C. in the intertidal zone
 D. in the neritic zone
 Which of the following organisms could not live on
the ocean floor of the oceanic zone?
 A. fish
 B. algae
 C. bacteria
 D. worms
 How do nutrients move in the ocean as a result of
upwelling?
 A. from deep, colder areas to warm, shallow areas
 B. from warm, shallow areas to deep, colder areas
 C. from the neritic zone to the intertidal zone
 D. from the oceanic floor into estuaries