ENVIRONMENT CONTENTS 1.1 Characteristics of the marine environment
1.2 Importance of Marine biological diversity
1.3 Identification of Marine bioactive compounds containing organisms AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS Account for the largest part of the biosphere in terms of area.
Can contain fresh water or salt water.
Aquatic ecosystems are stratified into zones stratified by light penetration, temperature and depth. THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT The word "marine" comes from the Latin Word"mar" or "mare," meaning sea or ocean.
Today, the term marine environment would refer to bodies of salt water and any plants, animals and other objects that exist in the body of water.
MARINE ECOSYSTEMS
Marine ecosystems are a part of the largest aquatic system on the planet, covering over 70% of the Earth's surface.
The habitats that make up this vast system range from the productive nearshore regions to the barren ocean floor.
MARINE ECOSYSTEMS Some examples of important marine ecosystems are: Oceans Estuaries and Salt Marshes Coral Reefs Mangrove Forests Coastal areas like Lagoons, Kelp and Seasgrass Beds and Intertidal systems (rocky, sandy, and muddy shores) OCEANS All the oceans of the world connect and make up one large body of water. This large body of water is called the world ocean. It is thought of as one large biome with many ecosystems and habitats.
INTERTIDAL ZONE
Intertidal Zones Located along the shoreline of the world ocean. It alternates twice each day between periods of submersion at high tide.Organisms that live in this zone must be able to endure exposed and submerged conditions. They also have to withstand the pounding of the surf. The Intertidal Zone
The intertidal area (also called the littoral zone) is where the land and sea meet, between the high and low tide zones.
This complex marine ecosystem is found along coastlines worldwide.
It is rich in nutrients and oxygen and is home to a variety of organisms.
Characteristics of the Intertidal Zone An inhospitable, changing environment - washed by tides each day, so organisms are adapted to daily changes in moisture, temperature, turbulence (from the water), and salinity. I) Moisture - covered with salt water at high tides and exposed to air at low tides. Organisms must be adapted to very wet and very dry conditions
Characteristics of the Intertidal Zone II) Water Movement The turbulence of the water is difficult for organisms to survive - the rough waves can dislodge or carry away poorly-adapted organisms III) Temperature The temperature ranges from the moderate temperature of the water to air temperatures that vary from below freezing to scorching.
Characteristics of the Intertidal Zone IV) Salinity The salinity of tidepools varies from the salinity of the sea to much less salty, when rainwater or runoff dilutes it. Animals must adapt their systems to these variations.
The Intertidal Zone Examples: sandy beaches rocks estuaries mangrove swamps coral reefs
Coral Reef
Coral reefs are found in warm, tropical waters. Kelp beds are often found in cold waters.
Coral reefs are thought of as the tropical rain forest of the water biome. Coral reefs are very productive and provide homes for several organisms.
The reef also is a breeding and feeding ground. Most bony fish live on or depend on the reef.
The ecology of a coral reef is fragile. The reef is made up of calcium carbonate skeletons of millions of tiny corals.
Only the top part of the reef is alive.
Coral depends on a symbiotic relationship with a form of alga, that lives inside the tissues. CORAL REEFS
Estuaries Estuary: A region where a freshwater source, usually the mouth of a river, meets the salt water ocean.
Wetlands
SALT MARSHES Salt Marsh: flat, muddy wetlands that are often surrounded by estuaries, bays, and lagoons. The most important purpose it serves is for migratory birds. They provide a place for food and rest during their long journeys.
Since intertidal zones occur where water meets land, they are often surrounded by wetlands such as salt marshes and mangrove swamps. Mangrove Swamp This wetland only occurs in warm climates. They can only exist in places that do not freeze more than one or two days a year. The dominant plant of the mangrove is the mangrove, a woody plant that can be a tree or a shrub. The water in the mangrove contains a small amount of oxygen. The plants have adapted to the low oxygen level by having roots that stick out above the water. OCEAN ZONES The ocean can be divided into zones according to physical characteristics.
The two major zones of the ocean are I) the sea floor, or bottom region, called the benthic realm and II) the watery region above the sea floor called the pelagic realm.
OCEAN HABITATS
The benthonic environment is divided by depth as it plunges deeper into the sea bed. OCEAN HABITATS
The pelagic environment is divided broadly into the neritic zone and the oceanic zone. OCEANIC ZONE The neritic zone is that part of the pelagic zone that extends from the high tide line to an ocean bottom less than 600 feet deep.
Water deeper than 600 feet is called the oceanic zone.
LIGHT ZONES The ocean can be divided from its surface to its depth into three zones based on the amount of light received:
I) The Euphotic zone (Sunlit Zone )
2) The Dyshphotic Zone ( Twilight Zone )
3) The Aphotic Zone ( Midnight Zone )
EUPHOTIC ZONE
This is the top layer, nearest the surface. It is also called the euphotic zone.
EUPHOTIC ZONE enough light penetrating the water to support photosynthesis. more than 90 percent of all marine life lives in the sunlit zone. goes down about 600 feet
EUPHOTIC ZONE
The depth of this zone depends on the clarity or murkiness of the water.
In clear water, the euphotic zone can be quite deep; in murky water, it can be only 50 feet deep. On average, it extends to about 660 feet (200 meters);
EUPHOTIC ZONE enough light for photosynthesis Photosynthesis in the oceans creates approximately 90% of the Earth's gaseous oxygen. Most of the oxygen is produced by phytoplankton. most of the life in the ocean is found in this zone, although it is the smallest ocean zone in terms of volume of water
EUPHOTIC ZONE In the euphotic zone, photosynthesizers (autotrophs) include: i. Free-floating algae -- often called seaweed ii. Red algae ( Rhodophyta) -- Porphyra (from which edible nori is made), dulse, Ceramium and maerl iii. Green algae (Chlorophyta) --thongweed, sea lettuce (Ulva) iv. Brown algae (Phaeophyta) -- like fast-growing kelp, Sargassum, Turbinaria, Dictyota, and wrack .
EUPHOTIC ZONE Phytoplankton -- tiny, one-celled photosynthetic plankton like diatoms, dinoflagellates, and coccolithophorids Plants Flowering plants (angiosperms) Submerged: Seagrasses -- flowering plants like eelgrass and thalassia Not Entirely Submerged: Mangroves -- trees that root in the shallow seafloor but grow above water EUPHOTIC ZONE Examples of euphotic zone animals include most ocean fish (including sharks and rays ), man-o-war, jellyfish, sea turtles, seals, coral and zooplankton Some animals in this zone have countershading.
Countershading is when an animal is light on its underside and dark on its upper parts.
When a predator looks down at a countershaded animal, it blends into the darker waters;
When a predator looks at a countershaded animal from below, the light underbelly disappears into the light. This adaptation helps camouflage the organism, hiding it from predators and allowing it to sneak up on prey. Most sharks, for example, are countershaded. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/bi omes/ocean/sunlit/ DYSPHOTIC(TWILIGHT) ZONE
Only a small amount of light can penetrate the water at this depth. As depth increases, pressure increases.
DYSPHOTIC ZONE Plants do not grow here Animals that live in the twilight zone include: lantern fish, rattalk fish, hatchet fish, viperfish, and mid-water jellyfish. This murky part of the ocean begins at about 600 feet under the water and extends to about 3000 feet. Some bioluminescence fish and squid live here.
DISPHOTIC ZONE This layer of the world's oceans receives only faint, filtered sunlight during the daytime
This zone appears deep blue to black in color. The depth of this zone depends on the clarity or murkiness of the water.
DISPHOTIC ZONE In the disphotic zone, there is enough light to see during the day, but not enough light for photosynthesis to take place, so no plants live in this zone. The amount of light decreases with depth. Because of this, food is not abundant.
DISPHOTIC ZONE The water in the disphotic zone is cold (the temperature ranges from 41 to 39 degrees F) and decreases with depth. The pressure is high -- it can be up to 1,470 psi (pounds per square inch) and increases with depth. The amount of dissolved oxygen in the water is less than in the sunlit zone
DISPHOTIC ZONE The animals that live in the disphotic zone are adapted to life in near darkness, cold water and high pressure. Many of the animals in this zone have large eyes, helping them see in the nearly dark waters. Most are small, dark and thin (to help camouflage them). Many have large teeth and jaws
DISPHOTIC ZONE Many of the animals in the disphotic zone are bioluminescent; they can make their own light Most bioluminesscing organs called photophores give off an eerie blue-green light Animals use their light to help them find food, to help them find mates, and/or to confuse predators
DISPHOTIC ZONE Counterillumination is a method of camouflage.
Light produced on the underside of bioluminescing animals can help the animal "disappear" from predators that are below it.
The top part of the animal is not lit; to animals looking down from above the prey, the prey animal is virtually invisible since its dark silhouette appears against a black background.
DISPHOTIC ZONE Some animals (like deep-sea shrimp) regurgitate bioluminescing fluid when attacked - this confuses and distracts the attacker. Animals in this zone feed on plant matter and algae that fall into this zone from the euphotic zone animals that stray into this twilight zone, and each other.
Animals in the disphotic zone are filter feeders, grazers, and predators.
Some animals migrate vertically (up and down) in order to feed upon the abundant life in the bright zone above them.
Most of the animals that eat other animals in this zone do not chase their prey; They lure the prey to them or simply wait for the prey to come to them. Some predators lure their prey with bioluminescent barbels (fleshy projections near the mouth) that look like small animals Examples of disphotic zone animals include algae, coelacanths, copepods, crabs and other crustaceans, ctenophores, dinoflagellates, dragonfish, fangtooth, gulper eel, hatchet fish, hydrozoans, medusas, lantern fish, snipe eels, some octopuses, mid- water jellyfish (Cnidarians), plankton, polychaetes, radiolarians, siphonophore, rattalk fish, sea dragons, some shrimp, some squid, viperfish and many worms (including tubeworms and segmented worms).
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/bi omes/ocean/twilight/ APHOTIC (MIDNIGHT) ZONE
90% of the ocean is in the midnight zone It is entirely darkthere is no light. The water pressure is extreme. The temperature is near freezing.
APHOTIC ZONE The living things found here live close to cracks in the Earth's crust. These cracks give off mineral-rich materials from the Earth itself. Special forms of bacteria utilize hydrogen sulfide from the cracks for energy.
Living things in the midnight zone include: angler fish, tripod fish, sea cucumber, snipe eel, opposom shrimp, black swallower, and vampire squid.
CORAL REEFS Coral reefs are warm, clear, shallow ocean habitats that are rich in life. The reef's massive structure is formed from coral polyps, tiny animals that live in colonies; when coral polyps die, they leave behind a hard, stony, branching structure made of limestone
CORAL REEFS The coral provides shelter for many animals in this complex habitat, including sponges, nudibranchs, fish (like Blacktip Reef Sharks, groupers, clown fish, eels, parrotfish, snapper, and scorpion fish), jellyfish, anemones, sea stars (including the destructive Crown of Thorns), crustaceans (like crabs, shrimp, and lobsters), turtles, sea snakes, snails, and mollusks (like octopuses, nautilus, and clams). Birds also feast on coral reef animals.
CORAL REEFS Types of Corals: There are two types of coral, hard coral and soft coral. Hard corals (like brain coral and elkhorn coral) have hard, limestone skeletons which form the basis of coral reefs. Soft corals (like sea fingers and sea whips) do not build reefs.
CORAL REEFS IN DANGER Many coral reefs are dying. Major threats to coral reefs are water pollution (from sewage and agricultural runoff), dredging off the coast, careless collecting of coral specimens, and sedimentation (when silt or sand from construction or mining projects muddies the waters of a reef and kills coral, which needs light to live).
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/bi omes/coralreef/coralreef.shtml MARINE BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION http://marinebio.org/Oceans/Conservation/biodive rsity.asp The richest source of biodiversity on earth are found in tropical rainforests and in the ocean
LIFE IN THE OCEAN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT The marine environment presents many challenges to organisms because seawater: Is dense enough to support organisms Has high viscosity Experiences variations in temperature and salinity Contains variable amounts of dissolved gases Has high transparency Has a dramatic change of pressure with depth
MARINE LIFE More than 250,000 identified marine species.
Most live in the sunlit (photic) surface water.
Marine life is influenced by environmental factors
MARINE LIFE Environmental factors in the marine environment include: temperature, salinity, pressure, nutrients, dissolved gases, currents, light, suspended sediments, substrate (bottom material), river inflow, tides and waves. MARINE LIFE Temperature can control distribution, degree of activity and reproduction of an organism.
Salinity can control the distribution of organisms and force them to migrate in response to changes in salinity. MARINE LIFE
Species success depends on ability to - Find food - Avoid predation - Reproduce - Cope with physical barriers to movement MARINE LIFE More land species than marine species Only 14% of all species are marine Ocean relatively uniform conditions Less adaptation required, less speciation Marine species overwhelmingly benthic rather than pelagic Benthic live on the bottom -Heterogenous Pelagic live in the water column
CLASSIFICATION OF MARINE LIFE BY LIFESTYLE Plankton (floaters) - Plankton are the organisms which float in the water and have no ability to propel themselves against a current. - They can be divided into phytoplankton (plants) and zooplankton (animals).