The slide show was designed and produced
for the NMA by STEP, the
Science Training &
Education Partnership
www.step-up-to-science.com
Science
Training &
Education
Partnership
The material in this slide show is provided free for educational
use only. All other forms of storage or reproduction are subject
to copyright- please contact the National Marine Aquarium
www.national-aquarium.co.uk
Classifying marine plants
and animals
Life is thought to have
started in the oceans,
more than 3000 million
years ago
For most of this time,
nearly all life was in
the oceans
OCEANS
present
Flowering plants
Time (in millions of years before the present)
First fish
1000
3000
Dinosaurs
Shelled fossils
Tree ferns & vertebrates
Jellyfish-like fossils
Land plants & invertebrates
First complex animals
2000
LAND
Seaweed-like plants
Single-celled plants
First bacteria
Single-celled plants
Plants started to grow in the
oceans around 3 000 million years
ago
Plants make their own food, using
sunlight
Because they need sunlight, they
can only grow in the shallow parts
of the ocean
Close to the coast, plants can grow
attached to the bottom
Seaweeds are plants
which grow
on the bottom of the
sea
Some are very big, like
this kelp, which grows
up to 30 metres long
75% of the ocean is at least 3000
metres deep, but even the tallest
trees are less than 100 metres
high
Growing on the deep sea floor won’t
work - it’s too dark!
Out in the
open ocean,
the plants
float in the
water
Most are too
small to see
It would take 200 of these
tiny plants to cover a
distance of one
centimetre
We can use satellites high
above the Earth to map the
amount of plants ….
Image courtesy SeaWiFS/ORBIMAGE
… on land ...
… and in the ocean
Plants provide the food for the
large variety of animals which live
in the ocean
There are 33 major groups of
animals
Animals from 32 of these groups are
found in the seas and oceans
Only 12 of these groups are found
on land
However, there are more species
on land than there are in the
oceans
Most of these are insects, which are not
found in the ocean
We are going to draw a family tree for
the common types of animals in the
seas and oceans
This shows how different types of
animals are related to each other
This branch leads to
jellyfish and their relatives.
All have tentacles with
stinging cells
This branch leads
to sponges
- very
SPONGES
simple animals
This branch carries worms,
crustaceans and molluscs
This branch carries
echinoderms and animals
with backbones
The Each
rest branch
of the
tree splits
two
carriesinto
many
main
branches
different
types of
animals
JELLYFISH &
relatives
SPONGES
JELLYFISH,
CORALS
JELLYFISH
and SEA
ANEMONES
& relatives
SPONGES
CRUSTACEANS all have hard outer shells and jointed legs. They
are related to insects and spiders
WORMS have long
thin bodies, divided
into segments
WORMS
JELLYFISH &
relatives
SPONGES
CRUSTACEANS
WORMS
ECHINODERMS
ECHINODERMS
includes starfish, sea
urchins and sea lilies
MOLLUSCSincludes
MOLLUSCS
snails, clams, squid and
octopus
JELLYFISH &
relatives
VERTEBRATES
SPONGES
VERTEBRATES are animals with a
bony skeleton with a backbone. The
group includes fish, reptiles, birds
and mammals
You have seen that -
Life started and developed in
the oceans
Most plants in the oceans are
floating single cells
You have seen that -
Most important groups of
animals are found in the
oceans
Relations between animals
groups can be shown on a
family tree
www.justaddh2o.tv
www.national-aquarium.co.uk
NOTES for USERS
The material in this slide show is designed to support the teaching of science at Key Stage 1
A full description of the slide show, and linked activities for students, can be found on the National Marine Aquarium (NMA)
web-site:
Teachers are free to amend the slide show in whatever way they feel fit, or to use slides in other contexts. However, please
note that neither the NMA nor the designers will accept responsibility for modifications, and original material remains
copyright of the NMA
Individual images used in the slides are copyright of NMA or STEP,
except where acknowledged separately
The slides have been set up to display as A4 landscape format. If they are incorporated into other slide sequences with
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The slide sequence contains the minimum of effects and transitions. However, there are some automated animations, and
teachers will wish to make sure that they are familiar with the sequence before use in class
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