Oceans

1. Oceans Randa Scott, DeOndria Nunn, Naomi Rodriguez Biome Project 2/25/14

2. Oceans • Oceans cover about 70% of the Earth's surface. The oceans contain roughly 97% of the Earth's water supply. • The oceans of Earth are unique in our Solar System. No other planet in our Solar System has liquid water, although recent finds on Marsindicate that Mars may have had some liquid water in the recent past. • Life on Earth originated in the seas, and the oceans continue to be home to an incredibly diverse web of life. • The oceans of Earth serve many functions, especially affecting the weather and temperature. • They moderate the Earth's temperature by absorbing incoming solar radiation (stored as heat energy). The always-moving ocean currents distribute this heat energy around the globe. This heats the land and air during winter and cools it during summer.

3. Facts • The world’s oceans contain enough water to fill a cube with edges over 1000 kilometers (621 miles) in length. • Ocean tides are caused by the Earth rotating while the Moon and Sun’s gravitational pull acts on ocean water. • While there are hundreds of thousands of known marine life forms, there are many that are yet to be discovered, some scientists suggest that there could actually be millions of marine life forms out there. • Oceans are frequently used as a means of transport with various companies shipping their products across oceans from one port to another.

4. Activities that have affected oceans • An international team of 19 scientists have published the first ever comprehensive map showing the combined impact of human activity on the planet's seas and oceans. • Activities and impacts included in the study include fishing, ocean acidification caused by pollution, temperature change, species extinctions and invasions, and the shipping, oil and gas industries. • Researchers developed models to quantify and compare how 17 human activities affected marine ecosystems. • The North Sea is one of the most heavily affected regions, along with the South and East China Seas, the Caribbean, the east coast of North America, the Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. The least affected areas are near the poles.

5. Producers • In the ocean food chain or food web is mainly phytoplankton which are algae. The phytoplankton can be found in shallow waters and some are floating plants. They are the major source of energy in the food chain through the process of photosynthesis.

6. Consumers • Primary consumers in the ocean are those animals that feed upon plants in the ocean. The primary consumers in the ocean are lobsters, mussels, and shrimp. Animals that eat other animals are secondary or tertiary consumers.

7. Adaptations • The animals living in the seas have to deal every moment with finding food, and protecting themselves from predators. There are many ways of hiding, defending, and feeding, and every different technique has advantages for different animals. Adaptations for Survival in the Sea explores some of the adaptations used by various sea creatures to survive. • Different animals have taken advantage of different food sources, some feeding at the top of the food chain, and others at the bottom. So every animal is both predator, and prey. • Keeping a constant body temperature is the most serious challenge facing warm-blooded mammals in an aquatic (watery) environment. Most marine mammals have an insulating layer of fat called blubber that keeps their bodies warm and buoyant. Blubber is rich in lipids (fats or fatty material that cannot dissolve in water) and stores large amounts of energy. • Another way marine mammals control their body temperature is by controlling their blood flow in a process called vasodilatation.