Transcript Marine Environments

Marine Ecosystems
A brief overview of different
marine ecosystems
Marine Environments and Habitats
• Habitat – the place or “home” in which an
organism is typically found
• Environment – the total surroundings of
living things
• The oceans have many environments,
some coastal and some out at sea
• Environments have 2 components – living
and nonliving
Living Components of
Environments
• These are the biological aspects of
•
•
environments, having to do with living things
These things are called “biotic” things and the
living things within environments are called
“biota”
For example, a coral reefs biota consists of
algae, fish, crustaceans, cnidarians, sponges,
bacteria, etc. Anything living that inhabits the
area
Nonliving Components of
Environments
• The nonliving aspects of environments are the
•
•
•
physical and chemical parts that make up the
environment
These are the “abiotic” things
For example, the abiotic aspects of a coral reef
are the water chemistry, light, temperature,
salinity, and pressure
It is the interactions between the biotic and
abiotic factors that characterize environments!
Identify Some Biotic Factors
Biotic Factors
• Fish
• Sea stars
• Predators
Identify Some Abiotic Factors
Abiotic Factors
• Salinity of the water
• Sunlight
• Weather/Climate
• Nutrient availability
• Waves
Different Marine Life Zones
(A Review)
Life Zones Review
Sandy Beach Environment
The Sandy Beach Environment
• Made up of small sand, crashing waves
and exposed to fresh water from rain and
runoff
• Has distinct zonation of life, contains small
organisms adapted to sandy environments
(such as the mole crab and surf clam)
Video
Rocky Coasts (Ex: Our West Coast)
Rocky Coast
• Greatly affected by
•
•
•
•
tides
Crashing waves
Ice in higher latitudes
Intense sunlight in
tropic regions
Fresh water runoff
which can contain a lot
of minerals and lots of
dissolved gas
Rocky Coasts continued
• During high tides the intertidal zone is
exposed to ocean grazers
• During low tide it is exposed to terrestrial
(land) grazers
• Large quantity of food available because
of the high level of nutrient availability
Barnacles!
Estuary Environments
• An estuary is an area where fresh and salt
water mix (brackish – mixture of salt and
fresh water)
• Usually occurs along coasts near rivers.
• Affected by tides
Birds Eye
Estuarine Salt Marshes
Estuarine Salt Marshes
• Costal region that is affected by the tides
• Can potentially have extreme temperature
changes
• Generally calm waters
• Fresh and salt water mix in this area
Estuarine Salt Marshes Continued
• Has a lot of decaying material
• High primary productivity
• Many marsh grasses, hermit crabs,
shrimp, eels and ducks
• Act as nurseries
Mud flats
Mudflats
• Characterized by dark, muddy sand and
no marsh grasses
• Very little wave action so the sands are
poorly aerated
Mud flats
• Decaying material tends to accumulate
– Kind of a graveyard
– Causes a gross, rotten egg smell if you disturb
the sand
• Home to lots of scavengers
– Mud snails, blood worms…
Mangroves
Mangrove
• Found in tropical
•
•
regions
Affected by the tides
Water may be
brackish (mixing salt
and fresh water) in
some mangrove
environments
Mangroves Cont.
• Mangrove trees are dominant
•
•
– Form an intricate system of tangled prop
roots
– Serves as a nursery for fish
Lots of decaying materials
Barnacles, snails, crabs and fish are typical of
this environment
Coral Reef
Coral reefs
• Found in warm environments
• Clear, nutrient poor water
• High wave energy environments
Corals Continued
• Coral polyps
create oddly
shaped crevices
which fish can
hide and live in
– Acts a nursery
and protects them
from predators
Corals Continued
• Has a high level
of biodiversity
(number of
species)
• Parrot fish,
sharks, butterfly
fish and corals
are typical of this
environment
Brochure assignment
• You will be assigned the zone/ecosystem
your group will be doing.