OCEAN ZONES 1. Intertidal Zone 2. Near-Shore Zone 3. Open-Ocean Zone
Where the Ocean Meets the Land (Place) Intertidal Zone The intertidal zone is the area between the high- and low-tide lines. At high tide, the area is completely under water, while at low tide, the area is exposed to air.
Where the Ocean Meets the Land (Habitats) Intertidal Zone Intertidal habitats depend on land features at the shore. For instance, 1. low parts of rocky cliffs might have plants that can survive out of water during low tide. 2. Sandy beaches hide crabs and clams that burrow under sand to await the rising tide.
Where the Ocean Meets the Land (Habitats) Intertidal Zone 3. River inlets branch into marshes and mud flats full of grasses with mollusks at their roots.
Where the Ocean Meets the Land (Habitats) Intertidal Zone 4. Tide pools may contain crabs, small shrimp, sea anemones, sea stars, sea cucumbers, snails, and a variety of small plants. These organisms are sheltered from large fish at high tide because of crashing waves, but are in danger of being eaten by birds at low tide.
Where the Ocean Meets the Land Intertidal Zone
The Richness of the Reef The Near-Shore Zone
The Richness of the Reef The Near-Shore Zone The near-shore zone is home to many species of fish, jellyfish, and seaweed & corals.
The Richness of the Reef The Near-Shore Zone Coral individuals, called polyps, live in colonies. Polyps produce hard exoskeletons attached to those of their neighbors.
The Near-Shore Zone Coral reefs are the branch-like structures built by colonies of coral polyps. The branched reefs provide habitats for many organisms, which form a complex community and food web.
Ocean Zones
The Wide and the Deep The Open-Ocean Zone Animals at the surface in the open ocean are much like those living near shore. Fish, sea turtles, and whales move between near-shore and open ocean zones.
Ocean Zones
The Open-Ocean Zone As you move deeper in the ocean, light decreases, pressure increases, and temperature drops. Organisms, such as squid, that live in those extreme conditions are very different from those that live near the surface.
The Open-Ocean Zone Communities of shrimp, crabs, tubeworms, slugs, and even fish form around hydrothermal vents, volcanic spots on the ocean floor. Bacteria there eat dissolved chemicals in the heated water.
The bacteria start the food chain for larger organisms.
The Most Important Organism You Never See Plankton are microscopic, drifting organisms that inhabit the wide open ocean. Plankton reproduce in such massive numbers that they form clouds in the water visible from space.
The Most Important Organism You Never See Plankton aren t a single species. They are a group that includes plantlike organisms, animal-like organisms, and bacteria.
The Most Important Organism You Never See Plantlike plankton make their food through photosynthesis, which releases oxygen back into the atmosphere, enabling us to breathe. Animal-like plankton feed on other plankton.
The Most Important Organism You Never See Large and small animals filter plankton from the water as their food. Smaller fish, in turn, become food for bigger predators.
The Most Important Organism You Never See