Ocean Zones Ocean Zones Include Intertidal zone neritic

Ocean Zones

Ocean Zones � Include Intertidal zone, neritic zone, and the open ocean zone.

Intertidal Zone � Highest tide on land is where it begins. � From there the zone stretches out to the point on the continental shelf exposed by the lowest tide.

Neritic Zone � Extents from the low tide line out to the edge of the continental shelf

Open Ocean Zone � Beyond the continental shelf lies open ocean zone. � Zone is the deepest, darkest part of the ocean.

Organisms � Most live near the surface � Scientists classify marine organisms according to where they live and how they move

Plankton � Are tiny algae and animals that float in the water and are carried by waves and currents. � Include geometrically shaped diatoms

Nekton � Free swimming animals that can move throughout the water column � Squid, most fishes, and marine mammals such as whales and seals.

Benthos � Are organisms that inhabit the ocean floor. � Crab, sea stars, octopus and lobsters are examples.

Intertidal zone � Organisms that live in the rocky intertidal zone must be able to tolerate the pounding of waves, salinity, and temp � Must also withstand periods of being underwater and exposed to air.

Estuary � An environment along the oceans edge � Is a coastal inlet or bay where fresh water from a river mixes with salty ocean water. � Water is known as brackish.

Coastal Wetlands � Are habitats found in and around estuaries � Along the US coasts, most wetlands are either mangrove forests or salt marshes.

Salt Marshes � Have muddy soil that is rich in nutrients and dominant plant is cordgrass � Tide channels running through the grass break up waves, thus protecting organism from the ocean surf

Mangroves � Have arching prop roots that anchor the trees to the land � Roots break up wind and waves protecting organism that live there � Roots also trap sediment so water is rich in nutrients

Neritic Zone � Extends from low tide out to the edge of the continental shelf � Hallow water over the continental shelf receives sunlight and a steady supply of nutrients washed from the land into the ocean

Habitats in Neritic Zone � Are coral reefs and kelp forests

Coral Reefs � Can from only in shallow tropical ocean waters � Produce a hard material around their soft bodies � When they die hard materials is left behind

Kelp Forests � Grow in cold neritic waters where the ocean has a rocky floor

Open Ocean � Begins where the nertic zone ends, at the end of the continental shelf � Only a small part of the open ocean receives sunlight � Has fewer nutrients.

Surface Zone � Surface zone is the only part of the open ocean that receives enough sunlight to support algae � Microscopic organisms are the base of food webs in the open ocean

Deep Ocean � Dark and cold � Many deep sea fishes produce their own light called bioluminescence.

Hydrothermal Vent � Located in the deep zone � Is an area in which heated ocean water rises through the cracks of ocean floor � Chemical nutrients in the heated water support unique organisms.