Marine Ecology

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Marine Ecology
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Ecology is the study of the inter-relationships
between the physical and biological aspects of
the environment. It is the study of how organisms
adapt to their environment and in turn alter it.
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There are two major marine provinces the
benthonic (bottom) and the pelagic (water column).
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Ocean Habitats

• The benthonic environment is divided by depth
  into the Intertidal zone, Sublittoral zone,
  Bathyal zone, Abyssal zone, and the Hadal zone
• The pelagic environment is divided into the
  Neritic Zone and the Oceanic Zone

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The ocean can also be divided into zones based
upon depth of light penetration.
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Ocean Habitats

• The photic zone is the depth where light is
  sufficient for photosynthesis.
• The dysphotic zone is where illumination is too
  weak for photosynthesis.
• The aphotic zone receives no light from the
  surface because it is all absorbed by the water
  above.

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In 1735 Linnaeus developed the taxonomic
classification used in zoology.
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Classification of Organisms

• The categories are from largest to smallest
  Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus and
  Species.
• The name of a species consists of the genus name
  combined with a trivial name.
• The genus name begins with a capital.

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The five major kingdoms in the ocean are Monera,
Protista, Fungi, Metaphyta and Metazoa.
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Classification of Organisms

• Monera are the bacteria and blue-green algae.
• Protista are single-celled organisms with a
  nucleus.
• Fungi are abundant in the intertidal zone and are
  important in decomposition.
• Metaphyta are the plants that grow attached to
  the sea floor.
• Metazoa include all multicellular animals in the
  ocean.

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Marine organisms can also be classified by
lifestyle.
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Classification of Lifestyle

• Plankton are the organisms which float in the
  water and have no ability to propel themselves
  against a current.
• They can be divided into phytoplankton (plants)
  and zooplankton (animals).
• Nekton are active swimmers and include marine
  fish, reptiles, mammals, birds and others.
• Benthos are the organisms which live on the
  bottom (epifauna) or within the bottom sediments
  (infauna).
• Some organisms cross from one lifestyle to
  another during their life, being pelagic early in
  life and benthonic later.

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Environmental factors in the marine environment
include temperature, salinity, pressure,
nutrients, dissolved gases, currents, light,
suspended sediments, substrate (bottom material),
river inflow, tides and waves.
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Basic Ecology

• Ecosystem is the total environment including the
  biota (all living organisms) and non-living
  physical and chemical aspects.
• Temperature can control distribution, degree of
  activity and reproduction of an organism.
• Salinity can control the distribution of
  organisms and force them to migrate in response
  to changes in salinity.

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9-4
Basic Ecology

• Hydrostatic pressure is the pressures exerted by
  a column of water surrounding an organism.

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More than 90 of marine plants are algae and most
are unicellular and microscopic.
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Selective Adaptive Strategies

• To photosynthesize (produce organic material from
  inorganic matter and sunlight) plants must remain
  within the photic zone.
• Diatoms are single cells enclosed in a siliceous
  frustrule (shell) that is shaped as a pillbox.
• Dinoflagellates are single cells with two
  whip-like tails (flagella).

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Zooplankton include the copepods and foraminifera.
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Selective Adaptive Strategies

• Copepods are small herbivores (plant-eating
  organisms) that filter diatoms from the water.
• Foraminifera are single-celled, microscopic
  organisms which build shells of calcium carbonate.

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The morphology of fish has evolved to allow them
to move through the water easily.
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Selective Adaptive Strategies

• The fishs body must overcome three types of drag
  (resistance) Surface drag, Form drag, and
  Turbulent drag.
• Speed is dependent upon body length, beat
  frequency, and the aspect ratio of the caudal
  fin.
• Aspect ratio is the ratio of the square of the
  caudal fin height to caudal fin area AR
  (Caudal Fin Height)2/Caudal Fin Area
• There are three basic body forms, each adapted to
  a different life style.
• There is a strong correlation between predation
  success and body form.

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Intertidal benthonic communities generally
display vertical zonation that parallels sea
level.
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Selective Adaptive Strategies

• Zonation reflects the amount of time the area is
  submerged and the ability of the organism to
  survive the stress of exposure.
• Benthonic communities also vary in response to
  substrate (bottom material).

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