1. Some of the life that lives there
Sea urchins
Limpets
Anemones
Starfish
Here is just some of the life that lives on the rocky shore.
Dog whelks
Barnacles
Crabs
Periwinkles

2. Threats and how we monitor life on the rocky shore
Sewage discharge
Unfortunately, some of the life on our rocky shores it at risk, largely from the actions of mankind. Pollution in the marine environment such as sewage and oil threatens the health of organisms living on the rocky shore.
In addition, global problems such as the threat of climate change mean communities of organisms we commonly find on our rocky shores are changing. This has repercussions for food webs for instance and may lead to effects on human use of our seas. For example if the food for a particular type of commercially important fish species is no longer available, then the fish will starve and entire parts of the fishing industry may be effected. Action therefore needs to be taken.
Ecologist have been monitoring the communities present on rocky shores for some time. A method using quadrats and transects have been used (pictured) to show how the distribution and abundance and species can change through the impacts of humans. In the UK, there is currently a rocky shore life monitoring project being undertaken called the ‘Shore Thing’ project (Heritage National Lottery funded) which gets people monitoring changes on the rocky shore over time to record the effects of climate change on our shores. Hopefully this data can be used to encourage us all to think more sustainably about our energy consumption on a day to day basis
Oil spill

3. Open Ocean Habitat Distribution
Stop 2 The Open Oceans
Open Ocean Habitat Distribution
Next stop, the open oceans!
Cruising currents

4. Open Seas: habitat profile
- A vast environment
- Difficult to find food
- Difficult to find mates
- Animals that live there need to conserve energy
Open oceans represents a vast and largely empty marine environment! (except for some tiny plankton communities!). Organisms that live here must struggle with finding food and mates for reproduction. These animals also need to conserve energy because they often have to swim long distances for the above.
70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, meaning our world is often referred to as the ‘blue planet’
Did you know?

5. Some of the life that lives there
Comb jelly
Dolphins
Tuna
Some organisms in the open ocean are streamlined in shape to help them swim through the water using very little energy. Two examples are dolphins and tuna fish.
In addition, some organisms produce their own light (known as bioluminescence) to help them attract predators and prey, such as this comb jelly, in the vast dark open ocean.
Some marine organisms produce their own light, known as bioluminescence, to attract prey and/or mates
Did you know?

6. Here we have an example of the tuna fish, designed for speed with its streamlined shape. The US navy are even using the natural streamlined design of open-water fish for inspiration in creating more speedy for efficient submarines.
Did you know?
The US Navy are using the natural streamlined design of open-water fish for inspiration in creating more speedy and efficient submarines

7. Big Mouth
This basking shark have a huge gaping mouth to filter out tiny plankton from the water column in the open ocean. Its mouth never closes as it needs to feed constantly in this environment! Another adaptation to living in areas of short food supplies.

8. Threats and how we monitor life in the open ocean
Threats to the open ocean include human activities such as fishing. Fishing generally targets large fish, i.e. those that live in the open ocean. Overfishing has become a problem in oceans across the globe, and many management techniques are being trialled to conserve stocks for the future.
It is beyond the scope of this project to go into management measures for fisheries, but Food for thought… in this module and Module E) Protecting our marine future: what can we do? Explains options for management of fisheries stocks in more detail.
Research vessels such as the RV Bernicia (pictured) of Newcastle University is designed to monitor stock abundances and has been carrying out fisheries research for over 30 years.

9. Deep Sea Habitat Distribution
Stop 3 The Deep Seas
Found on oceanic ridges where waters are very deep
Our next stop delves a little deeper down into the deep sea ecosystems of our planets. In particular, a relatively newly identified habitat: hydrothermal vents, which are found on oceanic ridges.
Galapagos ridge