How is the Marine Biome Organised

1. How is the Marine Biome Organised

2. Essential Questions • What is the marine biome? • What are the marine life zones? • What are the characteristics of marine life zones?

3. What is the marine biome?

4. Beneath the SurfaceThe Endless Voyage Series • http://learning.aliant.net/Player/ALC_Player.asp?ProgID=INT_ENDVOY03 • Answer the Self-test questions after the video • 27mins

5. The Marine Biome • it is one of the largest biomes on earth • includes three quarters of the earth’s water that contains thousands of different animals and plants • includes • Oceans • oceans are very large bodies of water that dominate the Earth's surface • Coral reefs • warm shallow waters • can be found as barriers along continents, fringing islands, and atolls • Estuaries • where freshwater streams or rivers merge with the ocean

6. Oceans • 5 Major Oceans • Indian Ocean • washes upon southern Asia and separates Africa and Australia • Atlantic Ocean • separates the Americas from Eurasia and Africa • Arctic Ocean • covers much of the Arctic and washes upon northern North America and Eurasia • Southern or Antarctic Ocean • has no landmass separating it from other oceans • encircles Antarctica and covers much of the Antarctic • Pacific Ocean • separates Asia and Australia from the Americas

8. Coral Reefs • they are the only animals that can build structures visible from space • are made of algae and tissues of animal polyps • corals obtain nutrients to survive through photosynthesis process carried out by algae and extending their tentacles to capture plankton in water • other marine animals and plants of the coral reef include microorganisms, invertebrates, fishes, sea urchins, star fishes, octopuses, etc

9. Estuaries • partially enclosed body of water that are formed in areas where freshwater from rivers and streams flows into the ocean and get mixed with the salty waters • also known around the world as bays, lagoons, harbors, inlets and sounds • plants and animals of the estuaries include algae, seaweeds, marsh grasses and mangroves • estuaries support a vast and diverse flora and fauna

10. What are the marine life zones?

11. Marine Life Zones

12. The Layers • Epipelagic • Mesopelagic • Bathypelagic • Abyssopelagic • Hadopelagic • Demersal Zone* • Benthic Zone * photic zone or euphotic zone aphotic zone

13. Photic/Euphotic Zone • is the depth of the water that is exposed to sufficient sunlight for photosynthesis to occur • it extends from the atmosphere-water interface downwards to a depth where light intensity falls to 1 percent of that at the surface • about 90% of all marine life lives in this region

14. Aphotic Zone • is the portion of water where there is little or no sunlight • the depths beyond which less than 1% of sunlight penetrates

15. One Ocean: Mysteries of the Deep • http://oneocean.cbc.ca/series/episodes/3-mysteries-of-the-deep • Questions sheet provided • 45:07mins

16. What are the characteristics of marine life zones?

17. Epipelagic From the surface down to around 200 m (656 ft). • illuminated surface zone where there is enough light for photosynthesis • plants and animals are largely concentrated in this zone • nearly all primary production in the ocean occurs here

18. Mesopelagic From 200 m down to around 1,000 m (3,281 ft) Also known as the middle pelagic or twilight zone • some light penetrates this deep but it is insufficient for photosynthesis • at about 500 m the water becomes depleted of oxygen • some creatures living in the mesopelagic zone will rise to the epipelagic zone at night in order to feed • is the location of the thermocline, with temperatures varying from over 20°C at the top to around 4°C at the bottom

19. Bathypelagic From 1,000 m down to around 4,000 m (13,124 ft) also known as midnight zone • the ocean is pitch black, apart from the occasional bioluminescent organism • no living plants, and most animals survive by consuming the snow of detritus falling from the zones above or by preying upon others • average temperature is about 4°C • larger by volume than the euphotic zone

20. Abyssopelagic From 4,000 m down to above the ocean floor • Very few creatures are sufficiently adapted to survive in the cold temperatures and incredible pressures found at this depth • pressures of up to 76 megapascals (11,000 psi) • temperatures around 2 to 3°C

21. Hadopelagic The deep water in ocean trenches • is mostly unknown, and very few species are known to live here • many organisms live in hydrothermal vents • most life at this depth is sustained by marine snow or the chemical reactions around thermal vents • the deepest known is at 10,911 meters (35,814 ft). • at such depths, e.g., 36k ft. below sea level, the pressure in the Hadal zone will reach over 110 MPa (16,000 psi)

22. Demersal Zone • the part of the ocean comprising the water column that is near to (and is significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos

23. Benthic Zone • the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers • Organisms living in this zone are called benthos • many such organisms are permanently attached to the bottom • live in close relationship with the substrate bottom