Ocean Environments

1. Benthic Zone – bottom2. Pelagic Zone - water

Two Basic Divisions

Benthic Zones

1. Intertidal– Shallowest area– Between the low and

high tide lines– Changing environment

Periwinkle

Fingernail Limpet

Buckshot Barnacles

Barnacle mating

Gooseneck Barnacles

Mussel with barnacles on it

Mussels

Mussel with barnacles on it

Sea star

Sea Urchin

ChitonSeaweed

Sea weed

Sea anemones – closed above water, open below water

Benthic Zones• 2. Sublittoral

– Always underwater– On continental shelf– Most variety of benthic life

Coral

Sponge with brittle star

Benthic Zones

3. Bathyal

- starts at continental slope and extends to 4000 m

- little or no sunlight

- cold 4°C

- very high pressure

Brittle Stars

Crinoids (Sea Lilies)

Sea cucumbers

Benthic Zones

4. Abyssal

- No sunlight

- 4000 – 6000 m

- On abyssal plain

Tube worms

Benthic Zones

5. Hadal• 6000m -11,000m• Trench

Foraminifera

Pelagic Zone – water area1. Neritic water area above

continental shelf

2. Oceanic water off of continental shelf further divided into 5 areas based on depth

• Oceanic zone is further divided into 5 areas based on depth

Neritic Zone Life

Herring

Angel fish Clown fish

Bluefin Tuna

Seahorse

Jellyfish

Plankton

Oceanic Zones

1. Epipelagic• Surface – 200 meters• Sunlight, warm

Oceanic Zones

2. Mesopelagic• twilight zone - some light but no

photosynthesis• 200 – 2000 meters• contains thermocline (large

temperature change) • low-energy tissues and sluggish

lifestyles to cope with low food energy, since no algae can grow.

• Many animals are bioluminescent

Firefly Squid

Cuttlefish

Coelacanth

Deep Sea Angler

Ogrefish

Giant Siphonophore

Bloodbelly Comb Jelly

Pelagic Zones

3. Bathypelagic zone

2,000 – 4,000 meters

Vampire Squid

Giant Squid

Pelagic Zones

4. Abyssopelagic zone

- 4000 – 6000 meters- low oxygen, nutrients

and food- Dark and cold

Snipe Eel

Zoarcid Fish

Resources

Anderson, Genny (2002). The splash zone. Retrieved August 5, 2008, from http://www.biosbcc.net/ocean/flspl.htm#top Allison, M., DeGaetano, A., & Pasachoff, J. (2006). Earth Science. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Deep Sea. Retrieved August 10, 2008, from Monteray Bay Aquarium Online Field Guide Web site: http://www.mbayaq.org/efc/living_species/default.asp?hab=9

Flach, Author's first name initialEls, & Heip, Carlo (1996). Vertical distribution of macrozoobenthos within the sediment on the continental slope of the Globan spur area. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 141, 55-66.

Monsters of the Deep Sea. Retrieved August 10, 2008, from Sea and Sky Web site: http://www.seasky.org/deep-sea/creatures-menu.html

Rager, Nicolle (2004). Sea Vent Viewer. Retrieved August 7, 2008, from Natinal Science Foundation Web site: http://www.nsf.gov/news/overviews/earth-environ/interact01.jsp

Roach, John (2005, Feb. 3). Life Is Found Thriving at Ocean's Deepest Point. Retrieved August 10, 2008, from National Geographic News Web site: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/02/0203_050203_deepest.html

Yancey, Paul (2008). Deep Sea Biology. Retrieved August 7, 2008, Web site: http://people.whitman.edu/~yancey/deepsea.html

Viau, Elizabeth A. (2003). The littoral zone. Retrieved August 5, 2008, from World Builders Web site: http://curriculum.calstatela.edu/courses/builders/lessons/less/les5/littoral.html