Life Away From Shore - Rutherford County Schools, NC
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Transcript Life Away From Shore - Rutherford County Schools, NC
Life Away From Shore
Ocean life differs farther away
from shore.
Conditions in the Neritic Zone
The
shallow water over the continental
shelf receives sunlight and a steady
supply of nutrients washed from the
land into the ocean.
The light and nutrients enable large
plantlike algae to grow.
Life in the Neritic Zone
More organisms live
here than in any
other ocean zone.
B/C of the supply of
nutrients.
Nutrients are
washed off of land
and supplied by
upwelling currents.
Coral Reef
Coral reefs are created by colonies of tiny
coral animals.
Coral reefs only form shallow, tropical ocean
waters.
Atoll: a ringed shaped reef surrounding a
lagoon.
Coral reef animals include: octopuses,
lobsters, shrimp, and fish… including Nemo!
Kelp Forests
Kelp: large heavy
algae that grow in
parts of the neritic
zone.
Kelp forests grow in
cold neritic waters
where the ocean
has a rocky floor.
Kelp use sunlight
and dissolved gases
in the neritic zone to
produce their own
food.
B/C of their size,
kelp require the
rocky bottom of the
ocean floor to
anchor to and air
bladders to keep
them upright in the
water.
Kelp forest animals:
young whales, sea
otters, and sea
urchins.
Conditions in the Open Ocean
Open
ocean begins at the edge of the
continental shelf.
Only a small part of the open ocean
receives sunlight.
Dissolved nutrients are less abundant in
the open ocean.
Divisions of the Open Ocean
Surface Zone: only
part of the open
ocean that receives
enough sunlight to
support the growth
of algae.
Transition Zone:
colder and darker
than surface zone.
Deep Zone: few
organisms live here
b/c of cold, dark
conditions.
Bioluminescence:
ability of living things
to produce their own
light.
Limited food supply
causes special
adaptations.
Hydrothermal Vents
Hydrothermal
Vent: area where HOT
ocean water rises out of cracks in the
ocean floor.
Only deep zone environment that supports
a variety of ocean life.
Bacteria at the vents use chemo synthesis
to produce their own food. (Producers of
the vents.)
Organisms include: giant clams, tube
worms, and crabs.
Hydrothermal Vent