Life in the ocean

Plankton= organisms that float or drift near the surface Examples: can be plant-like (phytoplankton) or animal-like (zooplankton) Plankton are microscopic (very small)

Nekton= organisms that swim in the open ocean Examples: whales, dolphins, sharks, sea lions, many types of fish

Benthos= organisms that live on or in the ocean floor Examples: crabs, starfish, worms, coral, sponges, seaweed and clams

2 Main Environments of the Ocean Benthic= the region near the ocean floor and all the organisms that live on or in it (the bottom environment) Pelagic= the region near the surface or at middle depths

(The entire Ocean Floor!) Pelagic Environment (All the water!) Benthic Environment (The entire Ocean Floor!) Intertidal Sublittoral Bathyal Abyssal Hadal Neritic Oceanic

Benthic: intertidal Inter means “between” Intertidal = between the high tide line and the low tide line

Benthic: sublittoral From the END of the intertidal zone to the END of the continental shelf

Benthic: Bathyal Along the continental slope- from the end of the shelf to the abyssal plain

Benthic: Abyssal Along the abyssal plain No sunlight, no plants, very few animals

Benthic: hadal The floor of the ocean trenches Not many organisms live here

Pelagic: Neritic Zone Covers the continental shelf Largest concentration of marine life More sunlight than any of the other ocean zones

Pelagic: Oceanic Zone The open water beyond the c. shelf (trenches = hadal zone) Many organisms in the upper regions, but strange creatures further below

As you go down further… Sunlight decreases Temperature decreases The amount of life decreases But… Pressure Increases Why?

Remember the human pyramid? Top = less pressure (surface of ocean) Bottom = more pressure = bottom of ocean

Let’s do some practice! For each Finding Nemo clip, identify the ocean zone where the clip takes place.