LIFE IN THE OCEANS
HISTORY•
Fossil evidence indicates that the first living organisms on the earth probably originated in the oceans
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Marine organisms depend on two major factors for survival
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Variations in either of these affect their ability to survive and flourish
OCEAN CHEMISTRY AND MARINE LIFE
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Animals and plants help maintain the ___________________________________ of the ocean. These organisms
________________________________________________ from the water and they return a tremendous
variety of nutrients and gases to the water.
PLANTS
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Nearly all life in the ocean is regulated by _____________________ plants absorb large amounts of substances
containing ___________________________________________________________. these elements are found
in abundance
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__________________________________________________ are also critical for plant growth; these are less
abundant
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How does this compare with the growth of vegetation on land?
MARINE
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When plants and animals die their body decays and the_________________________ that they consumed are
__________________________to the ocean
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Gravity slowly pulls them from the surface down to the ______________________________
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The deeper water then becomes a storage area for ___________________________. Deep dwelling animals use
these nutrients for substance but these nutrients need to be returned to the surface to be used by all marine life
UPWELLING
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involves wind-driven motion of dense, cooler, and usually nutrient-rich water towards the ocean surface,
replacing the warmer, usually nutrient-depleted surface water¹
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Occurs off the west coasts of ________________________________________________________________
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These areas are rich fishing grounds
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In shallow water, wave action on the shore may be powerful enough to cause deep water to mix with surface
water. Tides can also do this.
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Life in the ocean depends upon this _____________________________________________ thru this process
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MARINE LIFE
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Plant growth is restricted to upper ________________ due to Sun penetration limits
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Where there is sufficient sunlight most regions of the ocean have abundant free-floating, microscopic plants and
animals called ________________________.
Two main types
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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Plants and other photosynthetic organisms
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Remove dissolved gases and nutrients from the water and use the energy from sunlight to carry on
photosynthesis
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Food source for _________________________
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Form the base for the food webs that support ocean life
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BENTHOS
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Organisms that live on the ocean floor
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___________________________ that grow in sunlit shallow waters and animals such as oysters, sea stars, and
crabs
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Also ____________________________________ and corals which attach themselves to the ocean floor
OCEAN ENVIRONMENTS
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Divided into two zones
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_____________—further divided into five zones
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______________________--further divided into 2 zones
Benthic- Intertidal zone
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_______________________
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Lies between __________________________________ tide lines
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Rough tides and breaking waves make it a rough environment to be in but marine life still flourishes
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They are attracted by sunlight, abundant nutrients, and well mixed water
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Abundant crabs, clams, mussels, sea anemones and seaweed
Benthic--Sublittoral Zone
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A _________________________________________________________________________________________
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Located on the _____________________________________, is continuously submerged
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Dominated by sea stars, brittles, sea lilies
Benthic-bathyal zone
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Begins at ___________________________________________________ and extends to 4,000m
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Little or no light reaches this zone so plant life is scarce
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Octopuses, sea stars, and brachiopods
Benthic—Abyssal and Hadal Zones
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Abyssal- ________________________________________, begins where bathyal ends, extends to ___________
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Animals include sponges, worms, and sea cucumbers
Hadal – the ocean trenches, deeper than 6,000m; is virtually unexplored. Any life would depend on food that
falls from higher levels
WHY? __________________________________________________________________________________________
Pelagic- Neritic zone
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Located above continental shelves
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Abundant sunlight, moderate temperatures, low pressure
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These conditions make it ideaL for marine life
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Because of this plankton and nekton fill its waters, providing food that we eat
OCEAN RESOURCES
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Fresh water- the need for fresh water increases daily. In order to meet this demand we need to do two things
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1. Conserve the available water that we have and keep it from being contaminated (remember 97% of
water on earth is ocean water)
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2. increase the amount of fresh water by converting ocean water to fresh water at a reasonable cost
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This can be accomplished through Desalination systems
DESALINATION
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Very costly, currently ________________________________ is able to afford it
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Involves heating ocean water to remove the salt
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As the water heats up the liquid water evaporates leave ___________________________________________.
When the water vapor condenses the result is pure fresh water
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Another method is freezing•
When the ocean water freezes the first ice crystals that form are free of salt. The salt remains in pockets
of liquid water in the ice. The ice can be removed and melted to obtain fresh water
OCEAN RESOURCES-MINERAL DEPOSITS
________________________, concentric layers of __________________________________________ hydroxides
around a core were found in vast quantities by the H.M.S. Challenger and have since become a economic resource.
Manganese is used for making certain types of steel. Other types of nodules contain phosphates used for fertilizer
OTHER MINERALS
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FOOD—
Protein rich food