Oceans

Marine Environments Environment: The air, water, minerals, organisms, and all other external factors surrounding and affecting a given organism at any time. Life in the ocean is affected by water depth and the amount of sunlight that passes into the water Major Environmental Zones: 1.Intertidal Zone 2.Neritic Zone 3.Oceanic Zone 4.Benthic Zone

Marine Environments Intertidal Zone Neritic ZoneOceanic Zone Benthic Zone

Marine Environments AB C D

CONTINENTAL SHELF

Intertidal Zone Where ocean meets the land Exposed to air part of day Waves constantly crashing Covered at high tide, exposed at low tide Mudflats: worms and crabs Sandy Beaches: worms, clams, crabs, plankton Rocky Shores: sea stars

Neritic Zone Water becomes deeper Ocean floor starts to slope downward Water warm and gets a lot of sunlight Many plants/animals live here: Ex: corals, sponges, seaweeds, sea turtles, fishes, dolphins 4a34-9db f8bb7&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=HUB

Oceanic Zone Sea floor drops sharply Deep water of open ocean in this zone Plankton can be found near the water’s surface Fishes, whales, sharks live here Some animals live in very deep water and get food from material that sinks down from ocean surface

Benthic Zone Ocean floor Deepest parts of this zone do not get sunlight and get very cold Fishes, worms, sea urchins, and crabs have special adaptations to live here Get food from material that sinks down from above Other organisms, like bacteria, get energy from chemicals that escape from thermal vents on ocean floor (vents form at cracks in Earth’s crust) –CHEMOSYNTHESIS 2be6491a7254&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=HUB

Marine Ecosystems Ecosystem: all the living/nonliving parts of an environment that live in the same habitat The Earth’s Marine Ecosystems: Intertidal Areas Coral Reefs Estuaries Mangrove Swamps The Sargasso Sea Polar Ice

Intertidal Organisms Must be able to live in and out of the water Organisms in this zone have adapted to keep from being washed away by crashing waves Holdfasts – root-like structures attach to rocks Other organisms attach to the rock by releasing a special glue Sea grasses, snails, herons, clams, crabs, and conchs are all found in the intertidal zone

Coral Reefs Found in warm, shallow waters Made of small animals called corals Live in large groups Corals die and leave their skeletons behind New corals grow on these remains Id=d57a5200-efc a94b- 8f ade&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=HUB

Estuaries Area where fresh water from streams and rivers spills into oceans In estuaries, fresh water and salt water constantly mixing Tides help mix fresh and salt water creating an environment that is very rich in nutrients so area is very productive ecosystem NC estuaries are being polluted by urban development and agricultural runoff, which kill fish and plants 32ad0d13907d&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=HUB

Why estuaries are so important? Rich in nutrients from both land and ocean –plants and soils in an estuary trap nutrients and help break down waste and pollution –also support large numbers of plankton Plankton provides food for larger animals, like fish Dolphins, manatees, seals and other mammals feed on fish and plants in estuaries Birds, like the egret or heron, feed on fish and invertebrates (worms) that live in estuaries Estuaries also provide protected area for migratory birds to rest and breed Acts like a nursery for many juvenile organisms –Especially your seafood!

Mangrove Swamps Swamps located along coast of warm or tropical areas Mangrove trees grow here and help prevent erosion of coastline… especially during storms Breeding and feeding area for many different organisms BB70-70A5AA26A238&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US

The Sargasso Sea Found in the middle of Atlantic Ocean Contains floating rafts of algae called sargassum Many animals that live in the Sargasso Sea are the same color as the sargassum, which helps them hide from predators Weedline 

Polar Ice Found in Arctic Ocean and in the ocean around Antarctica – N/S poles Rich in nutrients which support large numbers of plankton Plankton forms the basis of the Arctic and Antarctic food webs – many fishes, birds and mammals rely on it for food Beluga whales and penguins also live in these areas Beluga Whale There are 17 species of penguins, and five of them live in and around Antarctica. ssetId=B048585D C-8A7C- 3433FFA07DD4&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=U S

Life in the Ocean Can a cow live on the ice in Alaska? No – polar bears live in this unique place. Just like a cow and a polar bear live in different places on Earth, an octopus and a dolphin live in different parts of the ocean. Studying life in the oceans is very complicated because they are so large. There are still many organisms we don’t know of or know little about. To make things easier, scientists classify marine organisms into three main groups.

Three Groups of Marine Life Organisms are placed in groups based on where they live and how they move –Plankton –Nekton –Benthos

PLANKTON Organisms that float or drift freely near ocean’s surface Microscopic Food for many organisms –Phytoplankton plant like – provides most of Earth’s oxygen –Zooplankton animal like

NEKTON Swim actively in open ocean –mammals like whales, dolphins, and sea lions –fish

BENTHOS Live on or in ocean floor Crabs, starfish, worms, coral, sponges, seaweed, and clams

Food Web vs. Food Chain ?

Do terrestrial and aquatic food webs ever cross? Example?

Interconnected Food Webs Aquatic and Terrestrial They interconnect in an estuary or intertidal zone Animals like frogs and birds live in water and on land –A frog can eat a fly on land and be eaten by a snake in the water Microbes – recycle nutrients/wastes of other organisms, including nitrogen from sewage Humans are top consumers  fishing/agricultural industries

Estuarine Plants & Animals

Make Your Own Food Web Choose 10 organisms: estuaries/intertidal zones Create a food web for your ten organisms The web must overlap between land/water Label/draw each organism Draw arrows to show the web and how the animals are connected Color your food web