Chapter 12

The Marine Habitat

Essentials of Oceanography
7th Edition

The diversity of marine life

The ocean is home to a wide variety of
organisms
Marine organisms range from microscopic
bacteria and algae to the largest animal in
the world (blue whale)
Number of known marine species: 250,000

Classification of living things

Organisms can
be classified into
one of three
domains of life:
Archaea
Bacteria
Eukarya

Figure 12-1

Classification of living things

Organisms can
also be classified
into one of five
kingdoms:
Monera
Protoctista
Fungi
Plantae
Animalia

Figure 12-1

Classification of living things

Taxonomic classification includes the
following increasingly specific groupings:
Kingdom
Phylum (Division for plants)
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species

Taxonomic classification of
selected organisms
Category

Human

Killer whale

Giant kelp

Kingdom

Animalia

Animalia

Protoctista

Phylum

Chordata

Chordata

Phaeophyta

Subphylum

Vertebrata

Vertebrata

Class

Mammalia

Mammalia

Phaeophycae

Order

Primates

Cetacea

Laminariales

Family

Hominidae

Delphinidae

Lessoniaceae

Genus

Homo

Orcinus

Macrocystis

Species

sapiens

orca

pyrifera

Classification of marine
organisms
Marine organisms can be classified into
one of three groups based on habitat and
mobility:
1.

Plankton (floaters)
Phytoplankton (drifting plants and algae)
Zooplankton (drifting animals)

2.
3.

Nekton (swimmers)
Benthos (bottom dwellers)

Plankton: Examples

Phytoplankton

Zooplankton
Figure 12-2

Nekton: Examples

Figure 12-4

Benthos: Examples

Figure 12-5

Life cycle of a squid

Squid experience
benthic, planktonic,
and nektonic stages
Squid are
considered
meroplankton
(opposite =
holoplankton)
Figure 12-3

Distribution of species on Earth

The land has more
species because it has
greater environmental
variability than the ocean
Most ocean species are
benthic because of greater
environmental variability
compared to pelagic
environments

Figure 12-6

Adaptations of organisms to the

marine environment
The marine environment presents many challenges
to organisms because seawater:
Is dense enough to support organisms
Has high viscosity
Experiences variations in temperature and salinity
Contains variable amounts of dissolved gases
Has high transparency
Has a dramatic change of pressure with depth

Marine organisms have various adaptations for the

conditions of the marine environment

Need for physical support

Condition:
Seawater is dense enough to support marine
organisms

Adaptations:
Many marine organisms lack rigid skeletons,
appendages, or vast root systems
Instead, they rely on buoyancy and friction to
maintain their position within the water column

Seawaters viscosity controlled

by temperature
Condition:
Seawaters viscosity (resistance to flow) is
strongly affected by temperature
Cold water has higher viscosity than warm
water, so is more difficult to swim through
Warm water has lower viscosity, so organisms
tend to sink within the water column

Seawaters viscosity controlled

by temperature
Adaptations:
Many warmwater organisms
have ornate
appendages to
say afloat
Many cold-water
organisms are
streamlined to
swim more easily

Warm-water
copepod

Cold-water
copepod
Figure 12-7

Seawaters viscosity and

adaptations of phytoplankton
Condition:
Phytoplankton must remain in
sunlit surface waters

Adaptations:
Small size increases surface
area to volume ratio
Appendages increase
frictional resistance
Tiny droplet of low density
oil increases buoyancy

Figure 12-8

Variations in temperature
Condition:
Coastal water temperatures vary more than the
open ocean or at depth

Adaptations:
Many coastal organisms can withstand a wide
temperature range (are eurythermal)
Most open ocean and deep-water organisms can
withstand only a small temperature range (are
stenothermal)

Variations in salinity
Condition:
Coastal environments experience greater salinity
variation than the open ocean or at depth

Adaptations:
Many shallow-water coastal organisms can
withstand a wide salinity range (are euryhaline)
Most open ocean and deep-water organisms can
withstand only a small change in salinity (are
stenohaline)

Osmosis
Condition:
Osmosis is the movement
of water molecules
through a semipermeable
membrane from higher to
lower concentrations
Osmosis removes water
from hypotonic organisms
Osmosis adds water to
hypertonic organisms

Figure 12-13

Adaptations:

Osmosis

Figure 12-14

Dissolved gases: Oxygen

Condition:
Marine animals need
oxygen to survive

Adaptations:
Many marine animals
use gills to extract
dissolved oxygen from
seawater
Marine mammals must
breathe air

Figure 12-15

Abundance of dissolved oxygen

and nutrients with depth

Figure 12-20

Seawaters high transparency

Condition:

Camouflage

Seawater has high

transparency

Adaptations:
Transparency
Camouflage
Countershading
Migration (DSL)

Countershading

Figure 12-17

The deep scattering layer (DSL)

Organisms
within the deep
scattering layer
undertake a
daily migration
to hide in deep,
darker waters
during daytime

Figure 12B

Increase of pressure with depth

Condition:
Pressure increases rapidly with depth

Adaptations:
Most marine organisms lack large compressible
air pockets inside their bodies
Water-filled bodies exert the same amount of
pressure as is pushing inward, so marine
organisms do not feel the high pressure at depth

Divisions of the marine environment

Main
divisions:
Pelagic
(open sea)
Benthic
(sea
bottom)
Figure 12-19

End of Chapter 12

Essentials of Oceanography
7th Edition