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Marine Life Zones
Marine Life Zones
1. Intertidal
– Shallowest area
– Between the low and
high tide lines
– Changing environment
Periwinkle
Fingernail Limpet
Barnacle mating
Buckshot Barnacles
Gooseneck Barnacles
Mussel with
barnacles on it
Mussels
Mussel with
barnacles on it
Sea Urchin
Sea star
Sea weed
Coral
Benthic Zones Brittle Stars
3. Bathyal
- starts at continental
slope and extends to
4000 m
- little or no sunlight
- cold 4°C
- very high pressure
Crinoids (Sea Lilies)
Sea cucumbers
Benthic Zones Tube worms
4. Abyssal
- No sunlight
- 4000 – 6000 m
- On abyssal plain
Benthic Zones
Foraminifera
5. Hadal
• 6000m -11,000m
• Trench
Pelagic Zone – water area
1. Neritic 2. Oceanic
water area above water off of continental shelf
continental shelf further divided into 5 areas
based on depth
• Oceanic zone is
further divided into 5
areas based on depth
Neritic Zone Life
Seahorse
Angel fish Clown fish
Bluefin Tuna
Jellyfish
Herring
Plankton
Oceanic Zones
1. Epipelagic
• Surface – 200 meters
• Sunlight, warm
Firefly Squid
Oceanic Zones
2. Mesopelagic
• twilight zone - some light but no
photosynthesis
• 200 – 2000 meters
• contains thermocline (large
temperature change)
• low-energy tissues and sluggish
lifestyles to cope with low food
energy, since no algae can grow.
• Many animals are bioluminescent
Cuttlefish
Ogrefish
Coelacanth
Giant Siphonophore
Bloodbelly Comb Jelly
Pelagic Zones
Giant Squid
3. Bathypelagic zone
2,000 – 4,000 meters
Vampire Squid
Pelagic Zones Snipe Eel
4. Abyssopelagic zone
Zoarcid Fish
Estuaries
• Dynamic habitat where two
aquatic systems meet
• Estuary
– Partially enclosed coastal
embayment where fresh and salt
water mix
– Estuaries are the most productive
habitats on earth and the most
effected by humans
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