Pollution Effects on Pelagic and Benthic Areas of the Ocean Biodiversity refers the existing variations present which form an ecosystem enabling human survival. However, the alteration of the world habitat has caused a shift in biodiversity. The role of ecologists is to ensure that there is no extinction of various species in the world due to reckless human behaviour. The maritime environment is among the worst hit areas as human activity creates an imbalance in the water levels. Factors such as dumping of human waste consisting of non-biodegradable materials are a causative factor for the possible mass extinction of marine plants and animals (Galgani et al. 45). Oil spills, overfishing, and shipping activities are further causes of adverse effects experienced. Human activity has over the years resulted in drastic climatic changes. Pelagic Zone This refers to the open ocean which is further divided into smaller regions based on depth. The pelagic zone is able to sustain fish and plants but as it deepens, life can hardly be sustained (Whitehead et al. 107). The regions are mainly divided into the epipelagic, mesopelagic, bathypelagic, and abyssopelagic. As pressure increases, maritime life drastically reduces. Since there is a presence of intense pressure, low temperatures, salinity, and a limited supply of dissolved oxygen, the environment becomes unbearable for sea creatures. Benthic Zone This is the lowest ecological area in the ocean or lake. Animals and plants which are
The lower shore, or low tide zone, is mostly submerged underwater. The most noticeable difference of this sub-region is the large diversity of different types of seaweeds. Organisms found in this zone are generally less adapted to periods of dryness. The creatures are generally the largest and most complex organisms on the shore as there are more sources of food as marine vegetation flourishes.
The variations of tidal levels have created different degrees of sun and air exposure that have resulted in three zones, generally, the supra-littoral zone, littoral zone and the sub-littoral zone (See Appendix A, Figure 3). Diverse animal and plant organisms excel at surviving and dealing with different degrees of abiotic and biotic factors and as a result the rocky shore ecosystem is comprised of a series of bands known as vertical, or in this instance, intertidal zonation (See Appendix A, Figure 1). Abiotic stresses such as light intensity and wave action typically set the upper boundaries where as biotic stresses set the lower boundaries and limit the distribution of many organisms to particular strata (See Appendix A, Figure 2). It is due to the species distribution among the different zones that the rocky shore ecosystems cannot be defined as a uniform habitat, rather a dynamic and complex one (Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, 2013).
In this episode of the BBC documentary series, “The Blue Planet: Open Ocean,” we were able to explore the abundance and complications of the open ocean, the pelagic zone. Over 60% of our planet is covered by the ocean, yet the deep sea is largely still unknown. We know more about the moon than what we know about the deep ocean. The temperature and the level of sunlight decrease as the depth increases. The ocean may appear uniform from the surface, but there is several layers to the ocean. The pelagic zone contains the most area of the open ocean. The zone includes everything except for the coastal waters and the sea floor. However, even within this area, there are variation since some part is lifeless with very little amount of organisms and
Floras and microbes are additional main biotic mechanisms of many oceanic ecosystems. Microbes act as decomposers for oceanic ecosystems, and they break defunct living matter and transforms it into vitality that is used by other existing organisms in the oceanic ecosystem. Detrivores, which are a type of animal, also eat deceased or putrefying plants and animal matter. Algae, which are autotrophs, appear as the head herbal vivacity and primary producers in oceanic ecosystems. The sunlight transforms the light into energy for nourishment for marine plants. Heat and light are focal abiotic factors discovered in essentially all oceanic ecosystems, consequently oceanic ecosystems has some broaden abiotic mechanisms, comprising viscosity and many more. The power that the bulk of an organism is called buoyancy. The durability of the drive of seawater is called viscosity. These abiotic factors source to the drive of all organisms in oceanic systems. Sunlight pierces the sea exterior only about 65 feet. As there is more salt in the Great Barrier Reef than in other oceanic ecosystems the marine holds less oxygen than the
The ocean is one of, if not, the largest biome on earth. There are more than one million species of marine life. Covering over 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, the ocean is our planet’s largest habitat, containing 99 percent of the living space on the planet. This area holds the life of nearly 50 percent of all species on Earth. Like lakes, oceans are subdivided into separate zones: intertidal, pelagic, abyssal, and benthic. All four zones have a great diversity of species. The intertidal zone is the region along the shoreline between average low tide and average high tide. In other words, this region goes through cycles of submergence and exposure to air. Animals in this zone must be able to survive the extended periods
The Ocean. Commonly known, as the big blue is one of the most ecologically diverse habitats on earth. It is home to 7000,000 million different species, all of which directly rely on the stability and natural habitats, which exist around the globe. In fact, over two thirds of the species living in the ocean are unknown (DNews). The industrial revolution changed the world for the better; the industrial revolution introduced hundreds of new products, which changed the way humans live. Throughout this paper we will discuss the causes and solutions to environmental degradation in the ocean.
Pelagic communities live in the water column, which is located above the seafloor and below the surface of the ocean. The pelagic zone divided into different subsections depending on the depth and column of the water.
(Principle number 3). The ocean contains many organisms and ecosystems that contribute to our life on land. These ecosystems function by transferring energy between different trophic levels. Trophic levels are the positions in which organisms are within an ecosystem. The order for this is 1. Autotrophs – things that can create their own food, 2. Herbivores – organisms that eat plants. 3. Carnivores – organisms that eat other organisms and finally 4. Decomposers – organisms which decompose organic material. For example, plants are at the very beginning of the trophic levels. They are labeled as autotrophs since they make their own food with photosynthesis, which we all knew already. This is the same for plants that lay on the bottom of the ocean, they take in the CO2 emissions we create in the atmosphere and take in sunlight to create
The Marine biome is very cold and can reach 12.6℉ at 13,000 ft. underwater. Many different types of plants and animals live in this cold water. Examples of these abiotic features, plant life, is purple coral, the sea anemone, sea whip, sun coral, soft coral, and brain coral. These plants all live in the water deep below the ocean. These plants have plants all have animals that live inside them.
If you have ever lived in proximity to coastal areas you may have seen coastline erosion first hand. The beaches you frequent during the summer may seem to be getting smaller and smaller every year. Why does your favorite beach seem to be disappearing? Coastal erosion is to blame. The waves, wind, tides and currents all play a part in the mechanism that is coastal erosion. When water and wind batter the shoreline sediments are carried out to sea and deposited on the sea floor or at other points along the coastline. This is called an erosional coastline. This erosion may be very apparent or seem to have happened overnight when it happens due to a large storm or extremely high tide.
The part of the ocean that is closest to the land is the shore. because the water is not very deep compared to the other ecosystems like deep ocean or open ocean which means that light , light does reach the bottom of the ocean in this ecosystem. the shore is affected by the waves. waves are always moving the mud and the sand in this area in this area of the ecosystem, which means that very few plants live in the water here. tides rise and fall, changing how deep the water is. at low tide, some areas are exposed to the air. and some marine animals, such as snails and crabs, move with the changing tides. animals such as mussels are attached to rocks or other surfaces. if they are exposed to air at low tide, they close their shells so they don't
Within the intertidal zone, food sources and abundance of nutrients are important biotic factors that shape and controls community dynamics. Algae is an aquatic organism that is the general name for a variety of plant like organisms ranging from single-celled phytoplankton (microalgae) floating in the water column to large seaweed (macroalgae) attached to the ocean bottom. Intertidal
Photosynthesis occurs in the first 660 feet of the sunlight zone that's why most of the marine mammals live in the first 600 feet of the sunlight zone. Most of the animals need sunlight to live and the sunlight zone provides that. There are many different types of marine mammals that live in the sunlight zone the most common ones are, Angelfish ( Brightly colored fish, lives in shallow warm waters), Angel shark ( Harmless shark, bottom dweller), Beluga whale ( Small and white, lives in cold Arctic Waters), Blowfish ( Poisonous fish, can swallow water double its size, also called puffer fish, globefish, and fugu), Blue-ringed octopus ( A very small venomous octopus, safe and warm reefs), Bottlenose dolphin ( Small dolphin, bottom dweller), Copepod ( Live in fresh and saltwater), Cuttlefish ( Very short legs, has a fin along the entire mantle, has an internal cuttlebone), Elephant seal ( A huge seal, lives in Pacific Ocean), Brittle star ( Has long spiny arms, bottom dweller), Horseshoe crab ( Hard shelled animal, lives and warm waters), Thresher shark ( Tail and fin greatly and Lodge its upper lobe), Whelk ( Spiral shell), and Zebra bullhead shark ( Bottom dweller, zebra like stripes). There are many more animals to be discovered that help the sunlight zone and the environment. (Sunlit Ocean (Euphotic) Zone Animal Printout,
As the world develops and the human population grows there is more pollution being dumped into the oceans, causing major problems to marine life and ecosystems. Major causes of marine pollution involve non-point pollutants, marine garbage, toxic ocean pollutants and sewage disposal in oceans. From heavy metal poisoning including lead and mercury killing predators such as sharks and whales, to waste getting trapped in the digestive tracts of marine animals, this essay focuses on how human interference causes horrifying problems to the marine life, but also how to fix it. It will also explore the normal activities of people including farming and how this can cause an imbalance in an ecosystem. Everyday activities can cause massive nutrient
There are three major intertidal zones including Upper Mid-littoral Zone, Lower Mid-littoral Zone, and the Lower Littoral Zone. These zones allow for different organisms to survive in their preferred tide levels. For example, the upper zone includes organisms that survive in a niche with high tide; where as the lower zone contains organisms with niches in low tidal zones.