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THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT

CHAPTER ONE : THE MARINE


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).

Nekton (swimmers)
Benthos ( bottom feeders)bottom
dwellers)

PLANKTON
NEKTON
BENTHOS
Marine Biodiversity

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