Organisms of the Marine Biome

Essential Questions What are the types of organisms in each marine life zone? How are organisms distributed in the marine biome?

What are the types of organisms in each marine life zone?

Epipelagic fish such as Zooplankton Algae Plants Turtles Tuna – bigeye, yellowfin, albacore, northern bluefin Many sharks Dolphin fish Jellyfish Basking shark Whale shark Sprats Anchovies Sargassum fish Great baracuda Jacks Swordfish Ocean sunfish Zooplankton Algae Plants Sargassum seaweed Turtles

Great barracuda accompanied by a school of jacks Northern bluefin tuna Sargassum seaweed Atlantic herring Sargassum fish ocean sunfish whale shark

Epipelagic characteristics of organisms predator fish have a deeply forked tail and a smooth body shaped like a spindle tapered at both ends and countershaded with silvery colours visual predators can use their eye sight

Mesopelagic Animals such as Swordfish Squids Wolffish Wolf eels a few species of cuttlefish chain catshark California Headlightfish Sabertooth fish Coccorella atrata Antarctic toothfish Barreleye Stoplight loosejaw Longnose lancetfish many bioluminescent organisms live in this zone mesopelagic fish make daily vertical migrations, moving at night into the epipelagic zone fish have a swimbladder muscular bodies, ossified bones, scales, well developed gills and central nervous systems, and large hearts and kidneys visual predators with large eyes lack defensive spines use colour to camouflage them

California Headlightfish Antarctic toothfish Coccorella atrata Barreleye Longnose lancetfish Stoplight loosejaw

Bathypelagic organisms Organisms such as: Lanternfish Marine hatchetfish Giant squid smaller squids Dumbo octopodes Sperm whales Viperfish Ridgehead Lightfish Frill shark Sponges Brachiopods Sea stars Echinoids Anglerfish Bristlemouth Fangtooth Daggertooth Barracudina

Lanternfish Bristlemouth Fangtooth Gulper eel Flabby whalefish Anglerfish Flashlight fish

Bathypelagic characteristics of organisms some species do not have eyes fish in this zone have become very energy efficient - many have slow metabolic rates to conserve energy unspecialized diets, being willing to eat anything that comes along prefer to sit and wait for food rather than waste energy searching for it fish here have weak muscles, soft skin and slimy bodies without scales fish are small, many about 10 centimetres long, and not many longer than 25 cm often have extensible, hinged jaws with recurved teeth gills, kidneys and hearts, and swimbladders are small or missing most important sensory systems are usually the inner ear, which responds to sound, and the lateral line, which responds to changes in water pressure fish are black, or sometimes red

Abyssopelagic Organisms such as: several species of squid black swallower tripod fish deep-sea anglerfish giant squid Echinoderms basket star swimming cucumber sea pig marine arthropods sea spider species living at these depths have evolved to be transparent and eyeless creatures have underslung jaws

Hadopelagic Organisms such as: Jellyfish Viperfish Tube worms Sea cucumbers deep sea angler fish creatures have adapted with reduced eyesight, having very large eyes for receiving only bioluminescent flashes most of the bottom dwelling creatures lack any pigmentation

Demersal Zone Organisms such as: Giant grenadier Rattails Brotulas Eels Eelpouts Hagfishes Greeneyes Batfishes Lumpfishes Fish are active and relatively abundant Fish are muscular with well developed organs Photophores are usually absent Eyes and swimbladders range from absent to well developed Fish are usually long and narrow

Giant grenadier

Benthic Zone can be divided into Organisms such as: blind Flabby body types they have a reduced body mass low metabolic rates Robust body types are muscular swimmers that actively cruise the bottom blind Organisms such as: Cusk-eel Orange roughy Patagonian toothfish Pacific hagfish Blotched fantail ray Tripod fish

Tripod fish Patagonian toothfish Blotched fantail ray Pacific hagfish Orange roughy

One Ocean: Birth of an Ocean – Chp 2 http://oneocean.cbc.ca/series/episodes/1-birth-of-an-ocean?auto_load_clip=1431659624 Question Sheet provided 17mins

How are organisms distributed in the ocean?