1/26/2016

Themarinebiome

Seetheworld
(anditsfossils)
withUCMP'sfield
notes.
SEARCH|GLOSSARY|
SITEMAP

Onlineexhibits:Theworld'sbiomes

Themarinebiome
Marineregionscoveraboutthreefourthsofthe
Earth'ssurfaceandincludeoceans,coralreefs,
andestuaries.Marinealgaesupplymuchofthe
world'soxygensupplyandtakeinahuge
amountofatmosphericcarbondioxide.The
evaporationoftheseawaterprovidesrainwater
fortheland.
Oceans
Coralreefs
Estuaries

Oceans

Thelargestofalltheecosystems,oceansare
ReeffishandcoraloffEniwetokatollinthecentralPacific.

verylargebodiesofwaterthatdominatethe
Earth'ssurface.Likepondsandlakes,theoceanregionsareseparatedintoseparatezones:
intertidal,pelagic,abyssal,andbenthic.Allfourzoneshaveagreatdiversityofspecies.Some
saythattheoceancontainstherichestdiversityofspecieseventhoughitcontainsfewerspecies
thanthereareonland.
Theintertidalzoneiswheretheoceanmeetsthelandsometimesitissubmergedandatother
timesexposed,aswavesandtidescomeinandout.Becauseofthis,thecommunitiesare
constantlychanging.Onrockycoasts,thezoneisstratifiedvertically.Whereonlythehighest
tidesreach,thereareonlyafewspeciesofalgaeandmollusks.Inthoseareasusuallysubmerged
duringhightide,thereisamorediversearrayofalgaeandsmallanimals,suchasherbivorous
snails,crabs,seastars,andsmallfishes.Atthebottomoftheintertidalzone,whichisonly
exposedduringthelowesttides,manyinvertebrates,fishes,andseaweedcanbefound.The
intertidalzoneonsandiershoresisnotasstratifiedasintherockyareas.Waveskeepmudand
sandconstantlymoving,thusveryfewalgaeandplantscanestablishthemselvesthefauna
includeworms,clams,predatorycrustaceans,crabs,andshorebirds.

Fromleft:mussels,worms,andaspidercrabatahydrocarbonseepcommunityintheGulfofMexicoaseafanandbrain
coralintheFloridaKeysNationalMarineSanctuaryaschoolofAtlanticamberjackoffNorthCarolina.

Thepelagiczoneincludesthosewatersfurtherfromtheland,basicallytheopenocean.The
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/marine.php

1/3

1/26/2016

Themarinebiome

pelagiczoneisgenerallycoldthoughitishardtogiveageneraltemperaturerangesince,justlike
pondsandlakes,thereisthermalstratificationwithaconstantmixingofwarmandcoldocean
currents.Theflorainthepelagiczoneincludesurfaceseaweeds.Thefaunaincludemanyspecies
offishandsomemammals,suchaswhalesanddolphins.Manyfeedontheabundantplankton.
Thebenthiczoneistheareabelowthepelagiczone,butdoesnotincludetheverydeepestparts
oftheocean(seeabyssalzonebelow).Thebottomofthezoneconsistsofsand,slit,and/ordead
organisms.Heretemperaturedecreasesasdepthincreasestowardtheabyssalzone,sincelight
cannotpenetratethroughthedeeperwater.Floraarerepresentedprimarilybyseaweedwhilethe
fauna,sinceitisverynutrientrich,includeallsortsofbacteria,fungi,sponges,seaanemones,
worms,seastars,andfishes.
Thedeepoceanistheabyssalzone.Thewaterinthisregionisverycold(around3C),highly
pressured,highinoxygencontent,butlowinnutritionalcontent.Theabyssalzonesupportsmany
speciesofinvertebratesandfishes.Midoceanridges(spreadingzonesbetweentectonicplates),
oftenwithhydrothermalvents,arefoundintheabyssalzonesalongtheoceanfloors.
Chemosyntheticbacteriathriveneartheseventsbecauseofthelargeamountsofhydrogensulfide
andothermineralstheyemit.Thesebacteriaarethusthestartofthefoodwebastheyareeaten
byinvertebratesandfishes.

Coralreefs

Coralreefsarewidelydistributedinwarmshallowwaters.Theycanbefoundasbarriersalong
continents(e.g.,theGreatBarrierReefoffAustralia),fringingislands,andatolls.Naturally,the
dominantorganismsincoralreefsarecorals.Coralsareinterestingsincetheyconsistofboth
algae(zooanthellae)andtissuesofanimalpolyp.Sincereefwaterstendtobenutritionallypoor,
coralsobtainnutrientsthroughthealgaeviaphotosynthesisandalsobyextendingtentaclesto
obtainplanktonfromthewater.Besidescorals,thefaunaincludeseveralspeciesof
microorganisms,invertebrates,fishes,seaurchins,octopuses,andseastars.

Fromleft:reeflifeintheGulfofAqaba,RedSeaareefatFanningIslandatollinthecentralPacificareefintheFlorida
KeysNationalMarineSanctuary.

Estuaries

Estuariesareareaswherefreshwaterstreamsorriversmergewiththeocean.Thismixingof
waterswithsuchdifferentsaltconcentrationscreatesaveryinterestinganduniqueecosystem.
Microfloralikealgae,andmacroflora,suchasseaweeds,marshgrasses,andmangrovetrees(only
inthetropics),canbefoundhere.Estuariessupportadiversefauna,includingavarietyofworms,
oysters,crabs,andwaterfowl.

Fromleft:Mangroveroots,southFloridawetlandsandtidalstreamsintheAsheIslandarea,ACEBasinNational
EstuarineResearchReserve,SouthCarolinaasaltmarshinWinyahBayNationalEstuarineResearchReserve,South

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/marine.php

2/3

1/26/2016

Themarinebiome
Carolina.

Freshwater

Marine

Desert

Forest

Grassland

Tundra

Topphoto:Dr.JamesP.McVey,NOAASeaGrantProgram.Oceansphotos,fromleft:I.MacDonald,OAR/NationalUnderseaResearch
Program(NURP)/TexasA&MUniversityStephenCook,NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration/DepartmentofCommerce
A.Hulbert,OAR/NationalUnderseaResearchProgram(NURP)/UniversityofNorthCarolinaatWilmington.Coralreefphotos,from
left:MohammedAlMomany,NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration/DepartmentofCommerceDr.JamesP.McVey,NOAA
SeaGrantProgramMikeWhite,NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration/DepartmentofCommerce.Estuariesphotos,from
left:OAR/NationalUnderseaResearchProgram(NURP)aerialviewandsaltmarshfromNationalOceanicandAtmospheric
Administration/DepartmentofCommerce.

HOME|SEARCH|GLOSSARY|SITEMAP|FREQUENTLYASKED
QUESTIONS
ABOUT|CONTACT|COPYRIGHT|CREDITS|SUBSCRIBE/RSS
OtherUCMPwebsites:
THEPALEONTOLOGYPORTAL|UNDERSTANDINGEVOLUTION|
UNDERSTANDINGSCIENCE

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/marine.php

3/3