marine organisms. three categories: plankton – usually very small floating organism, either plants...
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Marine Organisms
Three Categories:
• Plankton – Usually very small floating organism, either plants or animals, which are at the mercy of the tides winds and currents.• Nekton – Strong swimming animals that
live in the open ocean, not affected by tides or currents.• Benthos – Organisms that live on or in the
ocean floor, could be plants or animal
Plankton• Phytoplankton: “Plant” plankton that
photosynthesize. Often called algae.
• Zooplankton: “Animal” plankton. Eat phytoplankton
Nekton
• All animals that are capable of swimming powerfully against an ocean current
• Although many of these animals adapted to swimming great distances they usually remain close to one area because they have not adapted to environmental changes through the ocean.
Nektons
Whales
• Marine mammals that breathe air, are warm-blooded and feed milk to their young.
• Two main groups of whales:– Those with teeth – Those with baleen
Made of Keratin like your finger nails
Toothed Whales
• These include dolphins, porpoises, killer whales, belugas, and sperm whales
• Sperm whales are the largest toothed whale. They can dive to great depths (1000m) and stay under for an hour. They feed mostly on squid
Baleen Whales
• Include all the largest species of whales - blue, fin, humpback,
• They have 300-500 plates of baleen that hang from each side of the upper jaw instead of teeth, which they use to take krill out of the water
• An average humpback will eat 1-1.5 tons of krill per day
Adaptations of Whales
• Streamlined bodies• Powerful tail flukes• Thick blubber layer to keep warm• Twice as many red blood cells as other land
mammals• During dives - heart rate slows to conserve O2
• Water-tight seals on blowholes
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYkiRbgiwx0
Fish
• Fish are cold-blooded animals and possess gills for breathing and fins for swimming
• There are two main groups of fish:– Cartilage fish (sharks,and rays)– Bony fish (tuna, cod, halibut,)
Cartilage Fish• Cartilage fish lack bones and have a skeleton
made out of cartilage (the stuff that is in your nose)
• Cartilage fish are negatively buoyant – will sink if they stop swimming
Bony Fish• Bony fish display the greatest diversity of all
the vertebrates
• Possess air-filled swim bladders to aid in buoyancy
Benthos
• Creatures that live on, near, or in the bottom of the ocean floor.
• Some of these organisms are sponges, coral, crabs, muscles, and sea weed.
Benthos• Creatures that attach to the bottom are
barnacles, mussels, periwinkles
• Creatures that live near the bottom are crabs, lobsters, sea stars, sea urchins, and several species of fish including skates and flounder.
• Creatures that burrow in the bottom are clams and worms
CLAMS
WORMS Periwinkle
CORAL