1. Marine Phyla and Adaptations to Living in the Ocean
Ecology

2. Q of day: List five different types of marine organisms.
What are some of the obstacles that organisms face when they live in the ocean?
What types of adaptations might marine animals have to live in the ocean?

3. Marine Phyla Echinodermata
Includes starfish, sea urchins, sand dollars, sea cucumbers

4. Marine Phyla (Continued)
Mollusks (include a cephalopod)
Includes clams & snails
Octopus & squid are cephalopods

5. Marine Phyla (Continued)
Cnidaria
Includes jellyfish, sea anemones, & corals

6. Marine Phyla (Continued)
Arthropods
Includes lobsters, shrimp, barnacles, & crabs

7. Marine Phyla (Continued)
Vertebrates
Includes fish, sea turtles, whales, porpoises, sea lions, etc.

8. Adaptations of organisms to the marine environment
Marine organisms have various adaptations for the conditions of the marine environment.
Let’s focus on a few of the adaptations that marine organisms possess for:
Flotation & Buoyancy
Salt Regulation
Temperature
Water Pressure
Oxygen

9. Adaptations to Stay Afloat
Some animals (ex: Portuguese man-of-war) secrete gases into a float that enables them to stay at the sea surface
Remember: Viscosity increases with decreasing temperature. So, small organisms float more easily in cold waters than warm waters. In tropical waters, organisms have appendages to keep them afloat.

10. Adaptations for Buoyancy
Many species of fish have internal swim bladders filled with gas that keep them neutrally buoyant
When a fish changes depth, it adjusts the gas
pressure in its swim bladder to compensate for pressure change (gets smaller when swim deeper)

11. Adaptations to Salt Regulation
Marine fish have adaptations to maintain body water…

12. Adaptations for Temperature Regulation
Marine animals other than birds & mammals are ectotherms so body temp is same as surroundings
Seabirds & mammals are endotherms & have adaptations to maintain body temps in cold water.
Blubber (insulating fat & connective tissue) under their skin

13. Adaptations for Pressure
Many organisms do not have gas-filled cavities or lungs.
Deep-diving marine mammals may have:
Streamlined bodies (to reduce drag)
high conc. of myoglobin (holds oxygen)
collapsible lungs

14. Adaptations to Obtain Oxygen
Marine animals need oxygen to survive
Many marine animals use gills to extract dissolved oxygen from seawater
Marine mammals must breathe air
Whales have blow holes

15. Can you think of any others?
We’ve highlighted only a sampling of the adaptations that marine organisms have to survive in the oceans. Can you think of any others?