GEOL 2503 Introduction to Oceanography
Dr. David M. Bush
Department of Geosciences
University of West Georgia
Topic 20. Ocean Environments
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Topic 20. Ocean Environments
Life exists at all depths in the oceans. We’ll review all these terms, and more, in this
section.
Some ocean environment facts
Some important ocean physical conditions
Organic molecules are the source of food for all animals
Ocean life
Land versus ocean
Buoyancy
Examples of how some organisms float
The Portuguese Man-of-War
Sargassum—the brown algae after which the Sargasso Sea was named
The chambered nautilus
Swim bladders in fish
Not all fish have swim bladders
Body shape influences flotation
Osmosis (think back to desalinization discussion).
The effects of osmosis. The salinity of the water in the balloon is kept constant while it is
immersed in three containers, each with a different salinity. Water always moves from
fresher to saltier.
Fish and osmosis
Osmoregulation by salt-water fish. A fancy way to say keeping the fish’s tissues at the
proper salinity.
Sharks, rays, and osmosis
Salinity may limit where certain organisms can live and thrive.
Salinity may limit the range of some organisms at one stage of their life cycle but not
another.
Temperature and marine life
Pressure in the ocean.
Bioluminescence. Just like fireflies on land.
Bioluminescence
Siphonophore
Siphonophore
Comb jelly
Dinoflagellates are tiny, but numerous.
Anything that disturbs the water may cause dinoflagellates to bioluminesce.
Color in the ocean
Coloration of animals varies with depth
Color versus depth
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Light penetration in open ocean versus coastal waters. Coastal waters have more
sediment and suspended particles that interfere with light penetration.
Countershading
Countershading in shark and smaller fish
Bottom (substrate) types
Two major environmental zones in the ocean
Benthic Environment Zones
Pelagic Environment Zones
Ocean environment zones, also called marine provinces
Marine organisms classified by lifestyle.
Feeding Strategies. Autotrophs make their own food, heterotrophs do not
Scientific Classification of Organisms
Kingdom Monera
Kingdom Protista
Diatoms are Protista
Kelp, a large seaweed
Kingdom Plantae
A marine grass called turtle grass. Its genus is Thalassia
Mangrove tree
Kingdom Fungi
Kingdom Animalia
Random examples of animals: sponge, spiny lobster, whelk, fish, dolphins
There are two main groups of animals. Those without skeletons (invertebrates) and
those with skeletons (vertebrates). There several phyla of invertebrates important in the
ocean, but only one phylum of vertebrates—chordata—which includes the well-known
vertebrates (fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals).
Invertebrates. Don’t worry about memorizing all these.
Vertebrates can be divided into two groups
Stenohaline versus euryhaline
Ocean zones and sunlight penetration
Zones by oxygen content. Water with normal oxygen content is called oxic or
oxygenated.