What is a habitat? Habitat means “a place where an organism lives” Habitats are classified based on unique abiotic and biotic features Abiotic- water temperature, salinity, dissolved gasses, substrate type, water clarity Biotic- types of organisms that live there

3 Main Types Pelagic Zone the open water (very large) Benthic Zone the soft sandy to muddy bottom (large) the hard (rocky, coral) shore (very small)

Some Further divisions Pelagic 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 Zones Where land and ocean meets Covered with high tide and exposed to air at low tide Can be rocky, sandy, or muddy Zones Splash or Spray zone Mostly dry Littoral Zone Usually underwater

Intertidal Zone Challenges Moisture Varies depending on tide Waves Rough wave action can harm organisms Salinity Rainfall affects salinity of these shoreline areas Temperature As the tide moves temperatures change

Sea Grass Beds Sea grasses evolved from terrestrial plants and adapted to salt water conditions They are different than Macroalgae (sea weed) which evolved in aquatic environments Plants here need special adaptations to live in high salinity environment Sea Grass species Turtle Grass (Thalassia testudinum), Star Grass (Halophila engelmannii), and Paddle Grass (Halophila decipiens). Just to name a fewThalassia testudinumHalophila engelmanniiHalophila decipiens

Kelp Forests Found in cold coastal waters Typically off Pacific coast Dominate Vegetation type is Macroalgae (KELP) Grow along rocky coastlines Need sunlight for photosynthesis

Estuaries Places where freshwater rivers and streams mix with salty ocean waters Characteristics are influenced by marine water conditions as well as freshwater conditions Diverse array of plants and animals live in esturies

Mangroves Dominate Vegetation is Mangroves- 110 species worldwide Found in tidal areas with varying degrees of salinity Mangroves have special adaptations to live in such a highly saline environment Adaptations for ocean motion are also necessary since mangrove forests are located on coastlines with lots of wave and tidal motion

Coral Reefs Warm, clear, shallow ocean habitats Lots of animal diversity 3 types of reef Fringing reefs along the continental shelf (coastlines) Barrier reefs grow parallel to shorelines, but farther out. Typically separated by a deep lagoon Coral 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 Zone Open Ocean The pelagic zone is generally cold, but varies due to currents and locations Plankton and surface sea weeds provide the base of the food chain Animals include fish, whales, sharks, other mammals

Arctic Seas Extremely harsh conditions occur here Very cold Very little plant life Base of food chain is phytoplankton

Abyss Deep ocean Very cold, high pressure, high oxygen water Many invertebrates and fishes live here

Hydrothermal Vents Form along mid-ocean ridges where heat from the interior of the earth is released Primary 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