Marine Environments

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Marine Environments

• What are the major life zones in the ocean and
  along the coast?

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Objectives

• Students will be able to
• Identify the major marine life zones.
• Visualize the zones geographically.
• Describe the characteristics of the life zones.

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Motivation

• What part of the ocean do you think contains the
  most life? The least life?

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Major Marine Life Zones

• Supratidal zone- an area of the upper beach that
  gets a fine mist of salt spray from the crashing
  waves.
• Contains beach plants, grasses, shrubs, and
  trees.

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Supratidal Zone
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• 2. Intertidal zone- the turbulent area between
  high tide and low tide.
• This is where clams, mussels, sea worms, and
  seaweeds live.
• The long line of seaweed called the strandline
  marks the high tide on beaches.

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Intertidal Zone
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• 3. Subtidal zone- the area below the intertidal
  zone. This zone includes the surf zone, an area
  of turbulence.
• Fish , crabs, sea stars, and sea urchins live in
  the area.

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Subtidal Zone
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• 3. Neritic zone- lies above the continental
  shelf, the shallow part of the seafloor that
  surrounds the continents.
• This is the main area for commercial fishing.

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• 4. Oceanic zone- extends beyond the neritic zone
  and includes most of the open sea.
• Together the neritic and the oceanic zones make
  up the largest marine life zone (the Pelagic
  zone).
• Photic zone- closest to the surface
• Aphotic zone- no light penetrates

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• 5. Benthic zone- includes the entire ocean floor,
  from the intertidal zone to the ocean basin.
• Organisms living here exhibit unique adaptations
  to conditions on the ocean floor.

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Marine Life Zones
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Summary

• The ocean contains several life zones that are
  characterized by particular communities of plants
  and animals that are adapted to live in those
  environments.

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HW

• Please keep up with the reading in the textbook
• Tonight you should be reading pages 60-67.

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Lets Go to the Video!