What covers almost three- fourths of the Earth’s surface? What holds both the larges animals and some of the smallest organisms on Earth?

Marine ecosystem Ecosystems in the oceans

Marine ecosystems Shaped by abiotic factors Animals and plants come in all shapes and sizes Blue whales Plankton

Ocean Temperature Zones Surface zone Warm top layer Extend to 300 m below sea level Sunlight heats up the first 100 m Thermocline 300 m to about 700 m below sea leave Temperatures drop with increased depths

Deep zone Bottom layer Average temp 2˚C Ocean Temperature Zones

Depth and sunlight Life in the ocean is affected by water depth The amount of sunlight that passes into the water. Intertidal zone Where the ocean meets the land Exposed to air for part of the day Waves always crashing on rock

The Neritic Zone Ocean floor starts to slope Water becomes deeper Water receives a lot of sunlight Animals such as coral, fishes, sea turtles,

The Oceanic Zone The sea floor drops sharply Deep water of the open ocean Animals such as fishes, whales, and sharks

The benthic Zone The ocean floor Deepest parts don’t get any sunlight Animals have adaptations to live in the deep parts of this zone Organism get food by eating materials that sink Bacteria get energy from thermal vents

Coral Reefs Found in warm shallow areas Made up of corals Layer of skeletons build up to form coral reefs

Intertidal areas Found near the shore These area include mudflats, sandy beaches, and rocky shores Animals have adaptations not to get washed away by the waves Rootlike structures called holdfasts

Estuaries Fresh waters from streams and rivers pill into the ocean Salt in the water is always changing Plants and animals must be able to live in both salt and fresh water Large amount of plankton

The Sargasso sea Found in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean Floating rafts of algae call sargassum Animals are the same color as sargassum

Polar Ice Icy waters are rich in nutrients Support large numbers of plankton Many fishes and mammals rely on plankton Animals such as polar bears and penguins live on the polar ice

Imagine that you are studying animals that live in intertidal zones. You just discovered a new animal. Describe the animal that adaptations the animal has to survive in the intertidal zone.