Contents

 Introduction

 Bathymetric Distribution

 Classification of Bathymetric Distribution

 Distribution depending on Feeding Habits

 References
 Introduction
 The distribution of life over the earth's surface is
world-wide, as there is no place forbidding it to be
completely without its flora or fauna; The dense
tropical forest, the bleakest mountain, the scorching
heat and the drought of the desert, the devastating
cold of the polar regions: each has its quota of the
inhabitants, living out their lives as best they may.
However, closer study reveals the fact that the
distribution of life is by no means a uniform one, and,
aside from the differences in faunas, due to climatic
or other causes, there are peculiar instances of
isolated distribution.

 Life occurs in almost all habitats ranging from high

mountains to the deepest sea bottom. One would
find a series of contrasting conditions which of the
necessity profoundly affects the organism.
Source: Google
 There are three aspects of distribution of animals on earth, two of which are
distributed in space (land and water) and one in time.

•Geographic Distribution
Animals are horizontally or superficially
Distribution distributed.

in Space : •Bathymetric Distribution

Animals are vertically or altitudinally
distributed.

•Geological Distribution
 It is periodic/durational distribution of
Distribution animals from the very beginning of life on the
earth up to recent time.
in Time :
  The surface of earth parallel to X-axis
is called geographical or horizontal
plane and distribution along this
plane is called Geographical or
Horizontal Distribution and same is
true for Y-axis, which is called
Bathymetric or Vertical Distribution.

 Geological Distribution shows

that similar animals are found in
different locations around the
world.

Source: Wikipedia
 Bathymetric Distribution
 What is Bathymetry ?
 Bathymetry is the study of underwater depth of lake or ocean floors. In other words,
bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to hypsometry or topography. The name
comes from Greek bathus - "deep" and metron - "measure".

 What is Bathymetric Distribution ?

 The distribution of animals on the vertical surface of land and water is called the
bathymetric or vertical distribution. Bathymetric distribution concerns itself with the
vertical range of organisms in space, and means much more than mere altitude, for in
passing from the highest Himalayan-Alpine peak to the abyssal depths of the sea
which affect the animal life.
 The Primary Conditions affecting the vertical or bathymetric distribution are :
i. The air or water medium, which determines the method of breathing. If
animal is completely terrestrial and breath in air, it cannot live in water and
those who are completely aquatic and breath in water cannot survive outside
the water.

ii. The presence or absence of light not only modifies the animal directly but
indirectly through its effect on the food supply, for assimilative plants, which
form the ultimate nourishment of all animate nature, cannot exist where light
is wholly absent

iii. The third primary condition is the presence or absence of a substratum,

without which the organisms must be self-supporting, either buoyant or able
to swim i.e. Some animals are not able to walk they can only swim, some
animals have not complete walking capability (Aves).
 These condition therefore determines the bionomic group to which the animal
belongs, whether Plankton or Nekton on one hand, or Benthos on the other.
 Plankton–
Organisms with little or no locomotory organs,
floating in water at the mercy of currents. Plankton
includes organisms over a wide range of sizes from
jellyfish to algae, bacteria, protozoa, foraminifers,
radiolarians. They are also called drifters.

Nekton –
Animals possess locomotory power to swim
through water called swimmers or fly in air. E.g.
cephalopods, fishes, sea-turtles, whales, seals,
bats and birds.

Benthos –
Benthos is the community of organisms that live on,
in, or near the seabed, river, lake, or stream bottom.
They are called bottom-dwellers. Examples are
bivalves, echinoderms, sea anemones, corals,
sponges, sea squirts, starfish, etc. Source: Google
  Thus, aquatic animals maybe either be Pelagic or Benthonic.

 Pelagic : Animals inhabiting open water of sea, lake etc. Pelagic forms may be :
 Neritopelagic - Inhabiting shallow coastal waters over the continental shelf i.e.
living in littoral or neritic zones.
 Oceanopelagic -
i. Epipelagic/Euphotic - The epipelagic zone is closest to the surface and stretches down 200 m.
abundance of light allows for photosynthesis by plants and nutrients for animals.

ii. Mesopelagic/Disphotic - Also known as the twilight zone, begins at 200 m down and reaches a
depth of 1,000 m and has a little light but not enough for photosynthesis to occur.

iii. Bathypelagic/Aphotic - This zone follows from 1000 - 4,000 m in depth. No living plants exists
here. Most animals living here survive by consuming the detritus falling from the zones above.

iv. Abyssopelagic - This zone is located from 4,000 m to directly above the ocean floor and is a
completely dark area and hence home to colourless and blind animals.

v. Hadopelagic - This is the deepest part of the ocean at more than 6,000 m or 6,500 m
 Source: Google
Examples of Pelagic forms
 Benthonic : Benthic animals, sometimes called benthos, refer to organisms who live at the
lowest level of a body of water, including an ocean or a lake, sometimes even permanently
attached to the bottom. Benthos may either be

 Sedentary Benthos - Used to refer to organisms that do

not ever or often move from one position or place. They
do not have mobility E.g. sponges, molluscs, anthozoans.

Tunicate Sea - urchins

 Vagrant Benthos - Are those continually changing
especially as from one abode to another. They have
locomotory powers and either they can move rapidly or
slowly. E.g. tunicates, sea urchins, brittle stars.

Source: Google
 Peterson(1918) identified two types of bottom dwelling fauna viz
Infaunal Benthic
• Infauna are benthic organisms that
live within the body of the bottom
substratum, especially within the
bottom-most oceanic sediments,
rather than on its surface. In
general infaunal animals live in the
substrate of a body of water,
especially in a soft sea bottom.
Infauna usually construct tubes or
burrows and are found in the deep
and subtidal waters. Clams,
tubeworms, and burrowing crabs
are infaunal animals.
Epifaunal Benthic
• Epifauna are aquatic animals that
live on the bottom substratum as
opposed to within it, that is, the
benthic fauna that live on the top
of the sediment surface at the
seafloor. Benthic animals that live
on the surface of a substrate, such
as rocks, pilings, marine
vegetation, or the sea or lake floor
itself.
 Infaunas are also called Endobenthos i.e. lives buried, or burrowing in the
sediment, often in the oxygenated top layer, e.g., a sea pen or a sand dollar.

 Epifaunas also called Epibenthos i.e. lives on top of the sediments, e.g., like
a sea cucumber or a sea snail crawling about unlike other epiphytes.

Source: Gstatic.com
 The Secondary Conditions which limit bathymetric distribution are :

i. Whether the water be fresh or salty. Salinity in the sea is of the order of 35
parts per thousand. Most marine animals are confined to near normal saline
water i.e. Stenohaline i.e. many fresh water fish, such as goldfish, tend to be
stenohaline and die in environments of high salinity such as the ocean. A
few are tolerant to reduced salinity i.e. Euryhaline. Euryhaline organisms
are commonly found in habitats such as estuaries and tide pools where the
salinity changes regularly.

ii. Increase of pressure with depth which is very slight for air-dwelling forms
but relatively enormous for those living in the sea.
 Classification of Bathymetric Distribution

 On the basis of bathymetric distribution three realms are recognised:

(a) Geobiotic (terrestrial) (b) Limnobiotic (fresh water)

- It deals with the distribution of - It deals with the distribution of

animals on land. animals in fresh water sources.

(c) Holobiotic Distribution (marine

water)

- It deals with the distribution

of animals in sea.
(a) Geobiotic (terrestrial) Realm :
 The terrestrial realm extends from high-tide mark The North American
Prairies
along the shores of all continents and islands to
the summit of the highest elevation. It ranges in
altitude, therefore, from the lowlands to the
Alpine sub-region, and each division - lowland,
upland, prairie, high plain, or mountain range -
has its own distinctive fauna and flora.
Wild Yak found in the
Himalayan region.
 An additional terrestrial sub-realm is the Cryptozoic
or the Subterranean Caves, the only place in the
geobiotic realm where light is absent and dryness.

 Internal parasites and the wood-boring larvae insect Blind salamander of

also live in a lightless environment and are the subterranean
caves
consequently modified.

Source: Google
(b) Limnobiotic (fresh water) Realm :
 The terrestrial water contains a rather limited fauna, as comparatively few invertebrates
have ever attained a foothold. This possibly is due to the freshness of the water, but also to
the flowing character of the terrestrial waters.

 Certain lake and relic seas are the only bodies of fresh water to have sufficient depth to have
the deep-sea features of absence of light and
increase of pressure, but we do not find such
profound modifications in lacustrine forms because
they are individually so short – lived that there has
not been any time for any very marked adaptive
characteristics to develop in their inhabitants.

 The animals living in standing water bodies like

pond, lake or swamp are called Lentic and those
inhabiting running water like rivers, creek, spring
are termed Lotic.

Source: Google
(c) Holobiotic (marine water) Realm :
 Biologically speaking, the most important bathymetric realm is the marine, for all the
contrasting characteristics we find here are abundantly developed and in addition the
age during which the ocean has existed, has given sufficient time to the inhabitants
for evolution.

 The distribution of organisms in sea depends on their responses to currents,

temperatures and physical barriers; local distribution is affected by waves and tides,
type of bottom, salinity and depth.

 The marine realm is divided into four sub-realms, whose characteristics are as follows :

1. Strand or Intertidal or Littoral zone

2. Flat or Shallow sea or Sublittoral or Neritic zone
3. Pelagic or Bathyal zone
4. Abyssal zone
5. Trench or Hadal zone
Marine water i.e. Holobiotic realm

Source - Pinterest
 This zone occurs between low and high tide limits and also known as the foreshore or seashore.

 In this zone both light and substratum are present.

 The strand or tidal zone is the transitional area between the marine and terrestrial realm for the
inhabitants here left bare twice a day by the receding tide and have to endure drying, either by
means of closable shells or other devices, or burrow
 The rocky shoreline
down into moist sands, or must be able to breathe of Newport, Rhode
both the air and the water. Island, USA,
showing a clear line
 This area can include several types of habitats with where high tide
occurs.
various species of life, such as starfish, sea urchins,
and many species of coral. The intertidal zone is also
home to several species from different phyla
(Porifera, Annelida, Coelenterate, Mollusca,  Bancao Beach at
low tide, showing
Arthropoda, etc.). the intertidal zone
about 200 m from
 This zone have only a narrow tidal range, or can the beach
include many meters of shoreline where shallow
beach slopes interact with high tidal excursion. Source: Wikipedia
 The term flat or shallow sea is applied to the water overlying the continental shelf below the
low-water mark upto 200m.

 This shelf is formed by the action of storm waves, which are continually cutting back the shore
and depositing the debris, together with other land waste.

 The neritic zone is permanently covered with generally well-

oxygenated water, receives plenty of sunlight and has low
water pressure; moreover, it has relatively stable
temperature, pressure, light and salinity levels, making it
suitable for photosynthetic life. In particular, the benthic
zone (shallow ocean floor) in the neritic is much more
stable. Hence this zone is called the photic zone .

 Thus all of these factors make the flat sea a veritable hot -
bed of evolution also called the “Cradle of Evolution”. Also it
is rich in different types of fauna such as foraminifers, sea-
anemones, sponges, crabs, shore – birds, turtles etc. and
occasional mammals like seals and otter. Source: Wikipedia
 The pelagic realm embrace all of the superficial waters of the ocean down to the depths
between 2000 and 3000 m.

 Thus it is characterized by the presence of light and absence of a substratum (aphotic zone).

 In the upper portion there is variable temperature and frequent and violent wave action, while
in its lower strata the temperature are greatly reduced.

 The distance to which sunlight penetrates varies being greater in the tropics and less towards
either poles.

 Owing to the absence of a substratum, however,

no benthonic forms can exist in the pelagic
realm but all must be either nektonic or
planktonic. The pelagic realm constitutes the
high sea and is also a great means of dispersal
for countless forms of marine life.
Source - Slide player
 Beneath the limits of the continental slope and pelagic zone, is found the Abyssal Zone
which includes all waters from 5000 to 6000 m and 1-5 °C temperature.

 It alone makes up over 83% of the ocean and

covers 60% of the Earth.

 This zone is comparatively rich in species though

poor in individuals and the depth increases, the
number of different species decreases.

 The zone is divided into : (a) Abyssobenthonic zone – in

which a substratum is present, &
(b) Abyssopelagic zone – where there is no substratum
and all organisms swim or float.

Source: Wikipedia
  This zone extends much below the abyssal zone. The main features of this zone are:

Absence of light Quiescence Cold Temperature

- The course of light - There is no - Below a certain The pressure of the
must exist in the movement of depth, all oceans in abyssal waters is
upper transitional water except that the waters over the enormous and it
strata but it lacks the of the sluggish world is nearly to the
rays necessary to
increases directly
ocean currents of freezing point of with depth at
assimilating plant life, the greater
therefore none fresh water, and about 1 ton per 2.5
depths. diurnal and seasonal sq. cm of surface
exists. Therefore the
animals are all variations of the for every 2000 m.
carnivorous or feed temperature cease to
on dead organic exist.
matter.

 None of the deep-sea creatures is older than the Mesozoic. They seem to be all migrants from the
shallow water which have become adapted to the deep-sea conditions, but there is no instance in
the evolution of a new race of animals exclusively restricted to the abyssal realm.
 Distribution depending on Feeding Habits

i. Filterers – Suspension feeders i.e. obtaining nutrients from particles

suspended in water.

ii. Swallowers – Deposit feeders i.e. obtaining nutrients from particles

suspended in soil.

iii. Collectors – Detritus feeders.

iv. Scavengers – Dead Particle Feeders.

v. Grazers – Selective collectors i.e. relies on herbivorous food plants.

vi. Predators – Hunters i.e. prey on animals.

 References:
Animal Distribution by D. R. Khanna

Paleontology (Paleobiology) Evolution and Animal Distribution by Dr. P. C. Jain and Dr. M.
S. Anantharaman.

https://biologica.ca

https://www.worldatlas.com

http://ecoursesonline.iasri.res.in

http://marinebio.org/oceans/zooplankton

Biological Oceanography, An Early History, 1870-1960 by Schutt, F