Ocean Environment

Ocean Contents Ocean water is salty, SALINITY is a measure of the amount of dissolved salt contained in water. Salt water is more dense then fresh water Density is a measure of the amount of matter packed into a given volume; the higher the salt content the more density, the easier it is to float Parts of the ocean can be saltier then other parts if evaporation has taken place As you go down in depth the salinity increases

Ocean Floor

Ocean Zones Intertidal Zone Near Shore Open Ocean

Intertidal Zone Intertidal Zone What lives there? Changes conditions based on high or low tide Organisms must be able to survive in wet and dry environments. At low tide: The intertidal zone is exposed to air, the environment is dry. At high tide: the intertidal zone is covered in water. What lives there? -Crabs, mussels, starfish, seaweed

Near Shore: Coral Reefs Located over the continental shelf Coral Reefs Tropical regions Built from limestone deposits Contains 25% of all ocean life Only exist where sunlight can reach the ocean floor What lives there? -Algae, Anemone, Anemone Fish, Parrotfish, Moray Eel, Nudibranch, Clams(giant clams), Coral, starfish, Sea Urchins

Near Shore: Kelp Forests A type of seaweed in cold water Can be 40m (length of an airline jet) Need sunlight to grow so found only in the near shore environment What lives there? -Worms, Starfish, Lobsters, Crabs, Abalones, Octopus and Sea Otters.

Three Types of Organisms of the Near Shore Environment Bottom Dwellers Plant like organisms; algae, seaweed, crabs, corals, starfish, and shellfish Floaters Don’t swim, float; jellyfish Swimmers Fish, dolphins, whales and octopuses Theses animals swim

Open Ocean: Surface Zone The top 200m of the open ocean. Has SUNLIGHT Contains less life then near shore because there are no plants, rocks or reefs to protect life What lives there? -Dolphins, Phytoplankton, Zooplankton and Jellyfish

Open Ocean: Deep Zone Deep Zone: Dark and cold NO SUNLIGHT = NO PLANTS Animals that live here must eat each other to survive or eat food that floats down from the surface Most species glow in the dark at this stage What lives there? -Whales, lantern fish, Hatchet Fish, Mid-water Shrimp, Angelfish, Gulper Eel, Rattail, Giant Squid

Deep Ocean: Hydrothermal Vents -Openings in Earth’s crust -Water seeps into cracks in the ocean floor and is heated by magma. Heated water rises and gushes into the ocean - Organisms survive here from the bacteria What lives there? -Bacteria, tubeworms, crabs, fish, shrimp

Estuaries and Wetlands Salt marshes -what lives there Mangrove forests