Ocean Environments
Two Basic Divisions
1. Benthic Zone – bottom
2. Pelagic Zone - water
Benthic Zones
1. Intertidal
– Shallowest area
– Between the low and
high tide lines
– Changing environment
Periwinkle
Fingernail Limpet
Barnacle mating
Buckshot Barnacles
Gooseneck Barnacles
Mussel with
barnacles on it
Mussels
Mussel with
barnacles on it
Sea Urchin
Sea star
Sea weed
Sea anemones – closed above water, open
below water Chiton
Seaweed
Benthic Zones
• 2. Sublittoral
– Always underwater
– On continental shelf
– Most variety of benthic life
Sponge with
brittle star
Coral
Benthic Zones Brittle Stars
3. Bathyal
- starts at continental
slope and extends to
4000 m
- little or no sunlight
- cold 4°C
- very high pressure
Crinoids (Sea Lilies)
Sea cucumbers
Benthic Zones Tube worms
4. Abyssal
- No sunlight
- 4000 – 6000 m
- On abyssal plain
Benthic Zones
Foraminifera
5. Hadal
• 6000m -11,000m
• Trench
Pelagic Zone – water area
1. Neritic 2. Oceanic
water area above water off of continental shelf
continental shelf further divided into 5 areas
based on depth
• Oceanic zone is
further divided into 5
areas based on depth
Neritic Zone Life
Seahorse
Angel fish Clown fish
Bluefin Tuna
Jellyfish
Herring
Plankton
Oceanic Zones
1. Epipelagic
• Surface – 200 meters
• Sunlight, warm
Firefly Squid
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
Cuttlefish
Ogrefish
Deep Sea Angler
Coelacanth
Giant Siphonophore
Bloodbelly Comb Jelly
Pelagic Zones
Giant Squid
3. Bathypelagic zone
2,000 – 4,000 meters
Vampire Squid
Pelagic Zones Snipe Eel
4. Abyssopelagic zone
- 4000 – 6000 meters
- low oxygen, nutrients and
food
- Dark and cold
Zoarcid Fish
Estuaries
• Dynamic habitat where two
aquatic systems meet
• Estuary
– Partially enclosed coastal
embayment where fresh and salt
water mix
– Estuaries are the most productive
habitats on earth and the most
effected by humans
Estuaries & Salt Marshes 30
Estuary Oceanography
• Estuary classification can be based on basin topography or salinity
gradients.
– Topography – fjord, lagoon (semi-enclosed), coastal plain
• Positive estuary – (salt wedge)
– Full seawater at the mouth with fresh water in the upper reaches
– High fresh water input and low evaporation (river dominated)
• Negative estuary
– Small fresh water input and high evaporation
– Seawater enters at the surface and through evaporation causes hypersaline
water to sink and move out the estuary on the bottom
Estuaries & Salt Marshes 31
Kelp Forrest
• Kelp forests are home and nurseries for much
marine life
• Kelp forests could disappear or become
functionally extinct within decades in absence
of effective management that takes complex
ecosystem into effect, including direct and
indirect effects (eg, overhunting of whales
leads to killer whale predation on sea otters,
leads to rise of urchins and death of kelp)
Coral Reefs:
•Coral Reefs are underwater
structures made from calcium
carbonate secreted by corals.
•Coral Reefs are colonies of
tiny living animals.
•Often called the “rain forests
of the sea”, Coral Reefs
occupy .1% of the worlds
ocean surface.
•They provide a home for
over 25% of marine life
including: fish, mollusks,
worms, crustaceans,
echinoderms, sponges, etc.
•Temperature: Tropical Coral
Reefs rarely reach below 77
degrees F.
•Salinity: 34-35 ppt
Types:
•Fringing reef: DIRECTLY ATTACHED TO SHORE,
BORDERS WITH A LAGOON
•Barrier Reef: separated from a mainland by a lagoon
•Atoll Reef: a continuous barrier reef that extends all
the way around a lagoon with out a central island
Mangrove Swamps
• Mangrove swamps are coastal
wetlands found in tropical and
subtropical regions.
• They are characterized by
halophytic (salt loving) trees,
shrubs and other plants growing
in brackish to saline tidal waters.
• In North America, they are found
from the southern tip of Florida
along the Gulf Coast to Texas.
Florida's southwest coast supports
one of the largest mangrove
swamps in the world.
Resources
Anderson, Genny (2002). The splash zone. Retrieved August 5, 2008, from [Link]
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:
[Link]
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: [Link]
Rager, Nicolle (2004). Sea Vent Viewer. Retrieved August 7, 2008, from Natinal Science Foundation Web site:
[Link]
Roach, John (2005, Feb. 3). Life Is Found Thriving at Ocean's Deepest Point. Retrieved August 10, 2008, from National Geographic
News Web site: [Link]
Yancey, Paul (2008). Deep Sea Biology. Retrieved August 7, 2008, Web site: [Link]
Viau, Elizabeth A. (2003). The littoral zone. Retrieved August 5, 2008, from World Builders Web site:
[Link]
