User:Atcovi/Life in the Ocean

Truly the life in the Ocean is a huge mystery to scientists, even today! Even though much of the Earth's oceans have not been discovered yet, we still have a good idea of life in the Ocean. Let's take a look at a sneak peak of that.

Three Groups of Marine Life
The three main groups of Marine life are:
 * Plankton
 * Nekton
 * Benthos

Plankton are organisms that float or drift freely near the ocean's surface. Most, if not [all], are microscopic. Plankton are divided into two groups: Plant-like plankton (phytoplankton) and Animal-like plankton (zooplankton).

Nekton are organisms that swim actively in the open ocean. Types of these nekton include mammals (whales, dolphins, sea lions, etc.) + many varieties of fish.

Benthos are organisms that live on/in the ocean floor. There are many types of benthos, such as crabs, starfish, worms, coral, sponges, seaweed and clams.

Benthic Environment


The Benthic Environment is one major marine environment that is near the floor of a body of water.

Intertidal Zone
The shallowest benthic zone, known as the intertidal zone, is located between the low tide and high-tide limits. For this reason the intertidal zone changes (2 times a day). As the tide flows in, the zone is covered with ocean water. As the tide flows out, the intertidal zone is exposed to the air and sun.

Organisms living in the intertidal zone are equipped for the conditions. Starfish attach themselves to rocks and reefs, Crabs and Oysters have strong shells that protect them from the roaring waves during high tide/harsh sunlight during low tide and plants (seaweed) have strong "holdfasts" that allow them to grow in this zone (and prevent them from drifting away with the ocean waves).

Sublittoral Zone
This zone begins at the end of the intertidal zone. This zone extends to the edge of the continental shelf.

This zone is more stable than the intertidal zone, as temperature, water pressure and amount of sunlight remain fairly constant in this area. Organisms here don't have to deal with changes as much as the intertidal organisms have to deal with. Although the sublittoral zone gives a space of 200 meters below sea level, you'll find more organisms in the upper 100 meter area.