Animals of the Benthic Environment.

There are well over 300,000 known species in the ocean. 98% of them live in the benthic environment (diversity)

Animals of the Benthic Environment. I.Distribution A. The most prominent factors affecting diversity in the Benthic are: 1. Temperature – warmer waters increase diversity. 2. Currents – upwelling increases nutrients. 3. Wave energy – high wave energy decreases diversity.

Animals of the Benthic Environment. B. The Rocky Shore- 1. Spray (supralittoral) Zone – Area above the intertidal zone. -Affected by storms and tsunamis. -Species include isopods (sea roaches), Periwinkle snails and limpet.

Animals of the Benthic Environment. 2. Intertidal zone: a. High-Tide zone – Only covered by water during high-tide. - Species often include Buckshot barnacle, Rockweed, Periwinkle snails, Limpet and Chiton.

Animals of the Benthic Environment. b. Middle-Tide Zone – Area of intertidal which is equally covered and uncovered by water. -Higher biomass and diversity than High- tide zone.

Animals of the Benthic Environment. -Tide Pools often form here. Two obvious species are Sea anemone and Hermit Crabs.

Animals of the Benthic Environment. c. Low-Tide zone – Covered most of the time. -Species dominated by plants and algae. - An obvious animal of the Low-Tide zone is the shore crab (eats algae).

Animals of the Benthic Environment. C.Animals of Sediment-covered Shore. 1.Burrowing is the most successful adaptation in sediment shores.

Animals of the Benthic Environment a. Bivalves having a hinged shell are adept at burrowing. -They use a siphon for feeding and it must remain above the sediment. -The depth of burrowing is limited by the length of the siphon.

Animals of the Benthic Environment. 2. Other animals of the sediment shore include amphipods, lugworm and Sand Stars.

Animals of the Benthic Environment. D. Animals of the Shallow Offshore Ocean Floor. 1. Sublittoral (The Rocky Bottom) – In the euphotic zone allowing for much algae -example: Kelp is the dominant organism. -Animals include large crustaceans, Oysters and sea urchins.

Animals of the Benthic Environment. E.Coral Reefs. 1. Have the highest biodiversity of animals species than any other marine environment. -Water temp typically exceeds 18 degrees C. -Primarily found in the tropics.

Animals of the Benthic Environment a. Coral reefs are formed by Cniderians that secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard exoskeleton. As they accumulate reefs are formed.

Animals of the Benthic Environment. -This coral buildup creates a highly productive environment. -25% of all marine species are found in coral reefs.

Animals of the Benthic Environment. 2. Threats to Coral Reefs: -Threats include Fishing, Boat collisions, Suspended sediment, and increases in water nutrient levels, and increasing ACIDITY (CO2).

Animals of the Benthic Environment. a. Nutrient increases (dumping of fertilizers) favors suspension feeders and reduces clarity, thus threatening photosynthetic algae needed by the coral.

Animals of the Benthic Environment. b. Coral bleaching- condition of loss of color and death of coral. -Coral have a mutulistic relationship with Zooxanthellae algae (nutrients for protection. - Coral bleaching is caused by the loss of zooxanthellae = Coral dies.

Animals of the Benthic Environment. F.Animals of the deep- ocean floor. - No light -Very cold -Up to 1000atm of pressure -Primarily covered in sediment. -Difficult to study

Animals of the Benthic Environment. 1. Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Biocommunities. a. Sulfur-oxidizing bacteria are the producers of the hydrothermal vent community. -These bacteria live within the tissues of other organisms in the community thus maintaining a mutualistic relationship.

Animals of the Benthic Environment. -Tube worms are an example of organisms maintaining this type of relationship.

Animals of the Benthic Environment. There is a lot of other stuff to discuss regarding the ocean, however, this has been the abbreviated version. Ciao.