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Life on the Sea Floor Review Benthic environment Life Groups Regions of land above/below water Supralittoral, Littoral, Sublittoral, Bathyal, Abyssal, Hadal Plankton (floaters/drifters; at/near surface) Nekton (swimmers) Benthos (at/near bottom) Importance of Benthic Organisms Food resources, Commercial harvests Seaweeds Not plants just plant-like algae/protist Found in Euphotic zones Provide food, shelter, attachment Adapted to deal with tidal, current, and wave action Holdfast, Stipe, blades, air-filled structures Groups based upon pigments Green-chlorophyll (ROY BIV) Brown-fucoxanthin Red-phycoerythrin and phycocyanin Seaweed Groups Plants Few marine plants Eelgrass Turtle grass- Gulf of Mexico only Surf grass Areas of more turbulent areas Marsh grasses Areas of less wave action; Pacific/Atlantic Dominate estuaries/salt marshes Mangrove Trees-tropics only Animals More than 150,000 species 80% are epifauna (live on/attached to bottom) 20% are infauna (buried in sediments) Can be sessile or motile Larvae is all motile to prevent overcrowding and for colonization of new areas Type of substrate, temperature, pH, salinity, exposure to air, Oxygen levels in water, water turbulence, pressure all influence type of life found in benthic environments Rocky Shores Extreme environment Distribution based on ability to cope Intertidal Zonation Varies with local conditions Distinct arrangement of organisms Tidal Pools Receding water trapped in a depression Organisms are specialized to deal with changes in salinity and temperature Deeper pools mean greater volume of water which means a more stable environment Sand & Mud Mostly detritus feeders buried in the sediments Anoxic layers have little/no oxygen present Sea Floor Bioturbation Organisms such as sea cucumbers and worms that continuously disturb and rework sediment so that there is a well-mixed uniform layer on the sea floor Fouling & Boring Fouling organisms Settle and grow on pilings, docks, boat hulls Boring organisms Drill or bore their way into substrate Symbiosis Relationship between two organisms living closely together Mutualism Commensalism Parasitism Coral Reefs Location in tropics (23.5 degrees N & S) Colony of polyps that make calcium carbonate Need for survival Warm water Clear water High wave energy Shallow water Symbiotic relationship with Zooxanthellae Can be found in deep water Threats to Coral Reefs Overfishing Poverty Predation Coral Bleaching Diseases: CLOD, Black Band Increase sedimentation Harvesting Benthic Creatures Commercial harvesting Algae and their extractions Therapeutic uses