Marine Biome and Biodiversity

• An estimated 50-80% of all life on earth is found under the ocean surface and the oceans contain 99% of the living space on the planet.

• Less than 10% of that space has been explored by humans.

• A given area in an ocean upwelling zone is as productive as the same area in rain forests.

• A mouthful of seawater may contain millions of bacterial cells, hundreds of thousands of phytoplankton and tens of thousands of zooplankton.

• The Great Barrier Reef, measuring 2,300 km in length covering an area more extensive than Britain, is the largest living structure on Earth and can be seen from space.

• The Blue whale is the largest animal on our planet ever (exceeding the size of the greatest known dinosaurs) and has a heart is the size of a Volkswagen.

• The swordfish and marlin are the fastest fish in the ocean reaching speeds up to 121 kph in quick bursts; the bluefin tuna may reach sustained speeds up to 90 kph.

• Many fish can change sex during the course of their lives. Others, especially rare deep-sea fish, have both male and female sex organs.

• Although shark attacks get a lot of attention, this is far less than the number of people killed each year by elephants, bees, crocodiles, lightning or many other natural dangers. On the other side of the ledger, we kill somewhere between 20-100 million sharks every year through fishing activities.

Biome:

a distinct ecological community of plants and animals living together in a particular climate

• The Marine Biome covers about three-fourths of the Earth’s surface and includes oceans, coral reefs, and estuaries.

• Divided into 3 main regions:

1. Ocean

2. Coral Reefs

3. Estuaries

1. Oceans

• The ocean biome can be separated into several different ecosystems, each characterized by different biotic and abiotic factors, such as temperature, substrate, plants and animals.

Biotic: living

Abiotic: Non-living

We’re going to look at:

• Kelp forests• Mangrove swamps• Migratory animals

Focus for all ecosystems: FOOD!

• In an ecosystem, energy is recycled through living organisms.

• Autotrophs make their own food using energy from the sun (plants, algae, bacteria)

• Heterotrophs need to eat other organisms to get energy

herbivores (eat plants, algae, bacteria)

omnivores (eat plants and animals)

carnivores (eat animals primarily)

Energy is cycled through the food chain: who eats whom?

Basically:

So, what’s at the base of all these aquatic food chains?

One guess…

Plankton• Plankton are tiny open-water plants, animals or

bacteria. • The name is derived from a Greek root that

means, "wanderer." • These organisms range in size from microscopic

bacteria and plants to larger animals, such as jellyfish.

• Plankton generally have limited or no swimming ability and are transported through the water by currents and tides.

Marine Plankton -- microscopic ocean animals - magnified 140 times

3 types of plankton:

1. phytoplankton–microscopic plants and bacteria (photosynthetic, these are the autotrophs) ex. diatoms

2. zooplankton–microscopic animals (eat phytoplankton) Dinoflagellates

3. macrozooplankton–larger fish eggs and larvae and pelagic invertebrates (jellyfish)

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.gma.org/onlocation/zooplankton.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.gma.org/onlocation/globecactiv.html&h=300&w=400&sz=20&tbnid=KdPZIY1GRTsJ:&tbnh=90&tbnw=120&start=3&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dzooplankton%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D