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Marine Habitats
What is a habitat?Habitat means “a place where an organism
lives”Habitats are classified based on unique
abiotic and biotic featuresAbiotic- water temperature, salinity, dissolved
gasses, substrate type, water clarityBiotic- types of organisms that live there
3 Main TypesPelagic Zone
the open water (very large) Benthic Zone
the soft sandy to muddy bottom (large) the hard (rocky, coral) shore (very small)
Some Further divisionsPelagic and Benthic
Benthic Intertidal Zones Mangrove Forests Seagrass beds Kelp beds Coral reefs Hydrothermal Vents
Pelagic (photic zone, mesopelagic, bathylpelagic) Arctic Ocean Temperate Seas Tropical Seas Estuaries
Intertidal ZonesWhere land and ocean meets
Covered with water @ high tide and exposed to air at low tide
Can be rocky, sandy, or muddyZones
Splash or Spray zone Mostly dry
Littoral Zone Usually underwater
Intertidal Zone ChallengesMoisture
Varies depending on tideWaves
Rough wave action can harm organismsSalinity
Rainfall affects salinity of these shoreline areasTemperature
As the tide moves temperatures change
Sea Grass BedsSea grasses evolved from terrestrial plants
and adapted to salt water conditionsThey are different than Macroalgae (sea
weed) which evolved in aquatic environmentsPlants here need special adaptations to live in
high salinity environmentSea Grass species
Turtle Grass (Thalassia testudinum), Star Grass (Halophila engelmannii), and Paddle Grass (Halophila decipiens). Just to name a few
Kelp ForestsFound in cold coastal watersTypically off Pacific coastDominate Vegetation type is Macroalgae
(KELP)Grow along rocky coastlines Need sunlight for photosynthesis
EstuariesPlaces where freshwater rivers and streams
mix with salty ocean watersCharacteristics are influenced by
marine water conditions as well as freshwater
conditionsDiverse array of plants and animals
live in esturies
MangrovesDominate Vegetation is Mangroves- 110
species worldwideFound in tidal areas with varying degrees of
salinityMangroves have special adaptations to live in
such a highly saline environmentAdaptations for ocean motion are also
necessary since mangrove forests are located on coastlines with lots of wave and tidal motion
Coral ReefsWarm, clear, shallow ocean habitatsLots of animal diversity3 types of reefFringing reefs along the continental shelf
(coastlines)Barrier reefs grow parallel to shorelines, but farther
out. Typically separated by a deep lagoonCoral Atolls are rings of coral that grow on top of
old, sunken volcanoes in the ocean. They begin as fringe reefs surrounding a volcanic island; then, as the volcano sinks, the reef continues to grow, and eventually only the reef remains.
Pelagic ZoneOpen OceanThe pelagic zone is generally cold , but varies
due to currents and locationsPlankton and surface sea weeds provide the
base of the food chainAnimals include fish, whales, sharks, other
mammals
Arctic SeasExtremely harsh conditions occur hereVery coldVery little plant life
Base of food chain is phytoplankton
AbyssDeep ocean Very cold, high pressure, high oxygen waterMany invertebrates and fishes live here
Hydrothermal VentsForm along mid-ocean ridges where heat
from the interior of the earth is releasedPrimary producers here are Chemosynthetic
bacteria which thrive off of chemicals released from the vents
These bacteria are thus the start of the food web as they are eaten by invertebrates and fishes