Marine Biomes

MARINEMARINEBIOMESBIOMES

BIOMES

• a biome is a major, geographically extensive ecosystem, structurally characterized by its dominant life forms

• most of the oceans are considered part of a single biome, although areas with particularly unusual or unique physical characteristics or inhabitants may be considered as separate biomes

MARINE BIOMES• marine biomes make up the largest percentage

of aquatic biomes on earth. unlike freshwater biomes, these biomes involve a medium to high percentage of salt in the water

• marine biomes generally have salt concentrations that average 3%.

• marine algae and photosynthetic bacteria supply a substantial portion of the world’s oxygen and consume huge amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

2 TYPES OF WATER BIOMES•FRESHWATER

• rivers and streams• lakes and ponds

•SALTWATER• ocean• estuaries• seashores (tidal areas)

FRESHWATER BIOMES

• freshwater contains little or no salt, so it has a low salinity.

flowing freshwater = rivers and streams

still freshwater = lakes and ponds

flowing freshwater

• streams• the faster a stream flows the greater the amount of dissolved oxygen in it.

faster water flows = oxygen

flowing freshwater• streams

• the fish that live in streams are adapted to fast moving water

flowing freshwater• rivers

• water moves slower in a river and debris settles on the bottom.

• because of this, rivers tend to have more nutrients and less dissolved oxygen.

nutrients and oxygen

FRESHWATER• ponds

• small, shallow bodies of water• sunlight penetrates all the way to the bottom

• most completely filled with plant material

• very high amount of nutrients

FRESHWATER• lakes

• larger and deeper than ponds• plant growth is limited to the shoreline

• sunlight does not penetrate to the bottom= no plants after a certain depth!

FRESHWATER

• LAKES

SALTWATER BIOMES

SALTWATER

•Estuaries (wetlands)• area where a river meets an ocean• mix of salt and freshwater• located near coastlines, border land• extremely fertile• nutrient levels are higher than both salt and freshwater

SALTWATER

• ESTUARIES

SALTWATER

• seashores• tides have a huge influence on life here

• intertidal zone- portion of the shoreline that is covered with water at high tide and exposed to the air at low tide.

• Intertidal Zone• can be sandy or rocky• small fish, clams, crabs, other mussels are trapped in the tidal pools during low tide

INTERTIDAL ZONE

2 MAIN LIFE ZONES1. photic zone: surface of water

• phytoplankton and water plants that use photosynthesis (sunlight penetrates)

2. aphotic zone: no light/little light• light levels too low to support

photosynthesis (no sunlight penetrates)

PLANKTON

• PHYTOPLANKTON• unicellular algae• Cyanobacteria

• ZOOPLANKTON• planktonic animals

that feed on phytoplankton

MARINE BIOMESplankton are microscopic

algae, plants, and other organisms that float on the surface of water biomes.

They need sunlight to survive.

WHY IS PLANKTON SO IMPORTANT?

• Gross Primary Productivity – Rate at which an ecosystem’s producers capture and store chemical energy.

• Net Primary Productivity – Rate at which all plants in ecosystems produce useful chemical energy.

• Ultraplankton is responsible for 70% of primary productivity near the ocean surface

They are the first step in many aquatic food chains

OCEAN ZONATION

OCEANS• DID YOU KNOW THAT LIFE ON PLANET EARTH BEGAN IN THE OCEANS MORE THAN 3 BILLION YEARS AGO?

• COVERS ABOUT 75% OF THE EARTH’S SURFACE• THE FOUR MAIN OCEANS:

• PACIFIC OCEAN• ATLANTIC OCEAN• INDIAN OCEAN• ARCTIC OCEAN

• THE EVAPORATION OF WATER FROM THE OCEANS PROVIDES MOST OF THE PLANET’S RAINFALL, AND OCEAN TEMPERATURES HAVE A MAJOR EFFECT ON WORLD CLIMATE AND WIND PATTERNS.

Like lakes, the marine environment is generally classified on the basis of:

1.LIGHT PENETRATION• Photic Zone• Aphotic Zone

2.DISTANCE FROM THE SHORE AND WATER DEPTH

• Intertidal Zone• Neritic Zone• Oceanic Zone

3.OPEN• Pelagic Zone

BOTTOM • Benthic Zone• Abyssal Zone

MARINE ZONATION

• PHOTIC ZONE• THE ZONE WHERE THE LIGHT PENETRATES.• THERE IS SUFFICIENT LIGHT FOR PHOTOSYNTHESIS.

• APHOTIC ZONE• VERY LITTLE LIGHT CAN PENETRATE.• LIGHT IS INSUFFICIENT FOR PHOTOSYNTHESIS.

• INTERTIDAL ZONE• WHERE LAND MEETS WATER• ALTERNATELY SUBMERGED AND EXPOSED TWICE DAILY

DIE TO TIDES• CAN BE ROCKY OR SANDY

• NERITIC ZONE• BEYOND INTERTIDAL• INCLUDES SHALLOW REGIONS OVER THE CONTINENTAL

SHELVES

MAJOR LIFE ZONES AND VERTICAL ZONES

High tideLow tide

Coastal zone

EstuarineZone

Continentalshelf

Open Sea

Sea level

Sun

Euphotic Zone

Bathyal Zone

Abyssal ZoneSlope

Continental

Depth inmeters

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• OCEAN PELAGIC ZONE• EXTENDS PAST CONTINENTAL SHELVES, CAN BE VERY DEEP, IS THE

OPEN WATER• INCLUDES MOST OF THE OCEAN’S WATER.

• BENTHIC ZONE• THE SUBSTRATE AT THE BOTTOM OF ALL AQUATIC BIOMES.

• MADE UP OF SAND AND ORGANIC AND INORGANIC SEDIMENTS (“OOZE”).

• OCCUPIED BY COMMUNITIES OF ORGANISMS COLLECTIVELY CALLED BENTHOS.

• A MAJOR SOURCE OF FOOD FOR THE BENTHOS IS DEAD ORGANIC MATTER CALLED DETRITUS.

• ABYSSAL ZONE• THE DEEPEST REGIONS OF THE OCEAN FLOOR.

CORAL REEFS• ARE WIDELY DISTRIBUTED IN WARM SHALLOW WATERS• DOMINATED BY STRUCTURE OF CORAL ITSELF

• FORMED BY DIVERSE GROUP OF CNIDARIANS THAT SECRETE HARD EXTERNAL SKELETONS MADE OF CALCIUM CARBONATE

• CERATES A SUBSTRATE UPON WHICH OTHER CORALS, SPONGES, ALGAE GROW

• VERY DIVERSE ASSORTMENT OF VERTEBRATES AND INVERTEBRATES• VERY PRODUCTIVE

• CURRENTS AND WAVES CONSTANTLY RENEW NUTRIENTS• LIGHT PENETRATES TO OCEAN FLOOR ALLOWING

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

CORAL REEFS• coral reefs are usually found in shallow,

warm waters. they are found along continents, islands, and atolls. coral reefs are made of algae and tissues of animal polyp. these areas tend to be poor in nutrients, however the coral gets its nutrients from the algae

IMPORTANCE OF CORAL REEFS• coral are very important in controlling how much

carbon dioxide is in the ocean water. without coral, the amount of carbon dioxide in the water would rise dramatically and that would affect all living things on earth.

• in addition, coral reefs are very important because they protect coasts from strong currents and waves by slowing down the water before it gets to the shore. that is why they are called barrier reefs. they provide a barrier between the ocean and the shore.

• coral reefs are the “rainforests” of the ocean. reefs are ecologically important ecosystems and have a high biodiversity that serves as a storage bank of rich genetic resources

MARINE FOOD PYRAMID

NOTES• BIOME : LARGE ECOSYSTEM WITH DOMINANT

LIFE FORMS• MARINE BIOMES MAKE UP THE LARGEST

PERCENTAGE OF AQUATIC BIOMES ON EARTH (MEDIUM/HIGH LEVELS OF SALT)

• MARINE BIOMES INCLUDE OCEANS, CORAL REEFS AND ESTUARIES

• APPROXIMATELY 71% OF THE EARTH'S SURFACE IS COVERED BY OCEAN

NOTES• THE WORLD OCEAN IS SEEN TO BE DIVIDED INTO FIVE SUB

OCEANS: PACIFIC OCEAN, ATLANTIC OCEAN, INDIAN OCEAN, ARCTIC OCEAN AND SOUTHERN OCEAN

• OCEAN BIOMES ARE DIVIDED INTO FOUR ZONES: INTERTIDAL, PELAGIC, BENTHIC AND ABYSSAL

• INTERTIDAL: WHERE OCEAN MEETS SHORE• PELAGIC: MIXING OF COLD AND WARM OCEAN CURRENTS• BENTHIC: BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN FLOOR (COLD TEMP,

DARK)• ABYSSAL: DEEPEST ZONE AND INCLUDES MID-OCEAN RIDGES

NOTESDRAMATIC FORMS OF WEATHER OCCURS OVER THE

OCEANS(EX: TROPICAL CYCLONES ) OCEAN CURRENTS GREATLY AFFECT THE EARTH'S CLIMATE BY

TRANSFERRING WARM OR COLD AIR AND PRECIPITATION TO COASTAL REGIONS, WHERE THEY MAY BE CARRIED INLAND BY WINDS.

THE ANTARCTIC CIRCUMPOLAR CURRENT ENCIRCLES THAT CONTINENT, INFLUENCING THE AREA'S CLIMATE AND CONNECTING CURRENTS IN SEVERAL OCEANS.

AROUND HALF OF ALL CARBON DIOXIDE PRODUCED BY HUMANS SINCE THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION HAS DISSOLVED INTO THE WORLD'S OCEANS

• CORAL REEFS ARE USUALLY FOUND IN SHALLOW, WARM WATERS

• CORAL ARE VERY IMPORTANT IN CONTROLLING HOW MUCH CARBON DIOXIDE IS IN THE OCEAN WATER.

• CORAL REEFS PROTECT COASTS FROM STRONG CURRENTS AND WAVES BY SLOWING DOWN THE WATER BEFORE IT GETS TO THE SHORE

• CORAL REEFS HAVE A HIGH BIODIVERSITY THAT SERVES AS A STORAGE BANK OF RICH GENETIC RESOURCES

• ESTUARIES INVOLVE BOTH FRESHWATER AND SALT WATER. THEY PROTECT WATER QUALITY BY FILTERING OUT DIRT AND POLLUTION AND ARE OFTEN THE CENTERS OF COASTAL COMMUNITIES

THE END