1. Ocean Zones, Ocean Life, and Ocean Chemistry

2. Ocean Zones Shallow Ocean Deep Ocean Beach Intertidal Zone
Neritic Zone
Open-Ocean Zone
High-Tide Line
Surface Zone
Low-Tide Line
Continental shelf
Middle/Transition Zone
Continental Slope
Deep Zone
Abyssal Plain
There are 3 horizontal ocean zones:
Intertidal Zone- area at the seashore that is underwater during high-tide and exposed during low-tide
Neritic Zone- extends from the low-tide line to the edge of the continental shelf
Open-Ocean Zone- ocean beyond the edge of the continental shelf
There are 3 vertical ocean zones:
Surface Zone- sunlit area where plankton live and zone whose temperature is most affected by weather
Middle/Transition- zone in which most of the ocean’s nekton (free-swimming organisms) live
Deep Zone- deepest, darkest, coldest zone where most organisms are benthic (bottom-dwellers)

3. Ocean Zones Abyssal Plain Neritic Zone Transition Zone Beach
Shallow Ocean
Deep Ocean 1. 2. 5. 6. 3. 7. 4.
10. 8.
11. 9.
12.
Abyssal Plain Neritic Zone Transition Zone Beach
Continental Shelf Intertidal Zone Deep Zone Continental Slope
Low-Tide Line Surface Zone Open-Ocean Zone High-Tide Line

4. Three Groups of Marine Life
Plankton
Nekton
Benthos

5. Check What You THINK You Know plankton, nekton, benthos
What life zone do you think this lives in?
What life zone do you think these live in?

6. Check What You THINK You Know plankton, nekton, benthos
Which type of organism do you think lives on the ocean floor?
Which type of organism do you think swims freely throughout the ocean?
Which type of organism do you think lives on the surface of the ocean?

7. PLANKTON and ALGAE The majority of plankton and algae are microscopic.
They float on the surface of the ocean where there is plenty of sunlight.
Like algae and any other plant, they need carbon dioxide to breathe and sunlight to undergo photosynthesis.
They create a lot of oxygen when they breathe, so much that there is 60 times as much oxygen in the ocean as there is in the atmosphere.

8. PLANKTON There are two types of plankton.
Phytoplankton are plant-like organisms.
Zooplankton are animal-like organisms.

9. NEKTON Nekton are free-swimming organisms.
They are the majority of organisms that you probably think of when you hear “marine life.” They are very abundant in the ocean.

10. NEKTON
Nekton organisms have the ability to swim freely throughout the main body of the ocean.

11. NEKTON
There are many types of nekton.

12. BENTHOS Benthos are organisms that live on or in the ocean floor.
They live in the mud, sand and rock that is found on the ocean floor.
Many benthos organisms are probably very familiar to you.

13. BENTHOS
There are many different types of benthos organisms.

14. The Ocean Food Chain Plankton
Plankton are at the bottom of the food chain. Zooplankton eat the phytoplankton.
Nekton
Certain members of the nekton eat plankton and they eat each other. Usually the bigger organisms eat the smaller ones, like a shark eating smaller fish, but this is not always the case. Certain types of whales called baleen whales don’t eat fish. They eat only plankton. These filter feeders take in large amounts of seawater as they swim and filter out the plankton for food.
Benthos
Benthos must protect themselves from predators and create sheltered homes. They eat nekton and each other but not plankton. Why is this?

15. The Ocean Food Chain

16. Let’s see what you have REALLY learned!
I am going to show you some pictures. You need to identify which life zone that animal lives in!
Benthos Plankton Nekton

17. What else have you learned?
Which type of organism lives in the main body of the ocean?
Which type of organism needs to create safe shelters on the ocean floor for protection?
Which type of organism has only two types?
Benthos Plankton Nekton

18. Ocean Chemistry Salinity = Salt (NaCl-Sodium Chloride)
Higher Temperature = More Evaporation
More Evaporation = Saltier Water
Lower Temperature = Less Evaporation
Less Evaporation = Less Salty Water
Where is the water more salty? ___ Less salty? ___
A. Off the coast of Antarctica
B. Off the coast of Florida

19. Ocean Chemistry
The Atlantic Ocean experiences more evaporation than the
Pacific Ocean therefore the water in the Atlantic Ocean is:
A. Less salty
B. More salty
and therefore the average temperature of the Pacific Ocean
must be:
A. Lower
B. Higher
than the Atlantic Ocean.
Even though many gallons of freshwater pour into the oceans each day,
the salinity (saltiness) of the ocean remains in balance at about 35 parts
per thousand (35/oo) because water is constantly evaporating from the
ocean, leaving the salt behind.

20. The End