Transcript Ocean Habitat

Lifestyles of Marine Organisms
Essay – Jot Notes
Task
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Make jot notes to use as a guide for
an essay question about the lifestyles
of marine organisms.
Task
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In your jot notes include what each of the
different lifestyles are for marine organisms.
Each group needs to be discussed so it is clear
you know what they are and examples need to
be given.
Special adaptations need to be included about
the organisms that place it in that group.
Also include interesting facts about the
organisms in that group.
Introduction
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In the ocean just as on land all organisms
rely directly or indirectly on the sun for
energy
Introduction
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Producers turn the suns energy into
useable energy for consumers.
Introduction
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Consumers will feed on producers or other
consumers for energy
Introduction
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Decomposers will feed on producers or
consumers when they die and return
nutrients to the system for producers to
use.
Introduction
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Form all of these organisms the ocean can be
divided into three categories:
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Plankton – Usually very small floating organism,
either plants or animals, which are at the mercy of
the tides winds and currents.
Nekton – Strong swimming animals that live in the
open ocean, not affected by tides or currents.
Benthos – Organisms that live on or in the ocean
floor, could be plants or animal
Plankton
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These feeble swimming plants or animals
are separated into phytoplankton
(plants), which are producers, or
zooplankton (animals) which are first
order consumers
Plankton/phytoplankton
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Phytoplankton are mainly diatoms
which are the most important food source
in the ocean, usually single celled plants
(algae). They are called this because of
their silica shells symmetry which is
designed to help them float.
Plankton/phytoplankton
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Dinoflagellates represent both plants
and animals; they are the second most
important food source in the ocean. They
are often responsible for shellfish
becoming toxic or the “red tide” if they
have an outbreak.
Plankton/Zooplankton
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This is the animal form of plankton. If
their entire life is in this form they are
called holoplankton and if they are only
in this form for part of their life cycle they
are called meroplankton
Plankton/Zooplankton
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These animals come in different sizes and
are grouped into four categories:
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nanoplankton – microscopic/unicellular
microplankton – usually eggs and larval stage
macroplankton – usually about 1mm,
copepods
megaplankton- mostly jellyfish.
Nekton
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Nekton consists of all animals that are
capable of swimming powerfully,
mammals, reptiles, sharks, and fish.
Squid are the only non-vertebrate that is
a strong enough swimmer to be in this
category.
Nekton
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Although many of these animals adapted
to swimming great distances they
usually remain close to one area because
they have not adapted to environmental
changes through the ocean. This area of
the ocean is the pelagic zone, which
consists of most of the ocean water.
Benthos
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The benthic zone consists of plants
(epiflora) and animals (epifauna) on or in
the bottom. Some of these organisms are
the sea fan, sponges, coral, crabs
muscles, and sea weed.
Benthos
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Animals that are buried in the ocean
floor like clams and worms are called
(infauna)
Benthos
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The larval stage of many benthic animals
is an extremely important part of the
meroplankton, thus a very valuable food
source for the ocean.
Conclusion
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The ocean which is a marine biome is
divided into three main parts:
1) Planktonic Zone – The top few feet
of the ocean where plankton live.
2) Nektonic Zone – The open ocean
where the inhabitants can swim to the
surface or the bottom and are called
nekton.
Conclusion
3) Benthic Zone – This is the floor of the
ocean where the inhabitants called benthos
are usually fixed to the bottom or sessile like
coral. Some like lobster or crabs are mobile.
Another zone is the Intertidal Zone –
Organisms here are covered by water at high
tide and are exposed to air during low tide.
Many organisms here are adapted to living on
land and under water.