Marine Habitats

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