Marine biomes make up the largest percentage of aquatic biomes on Earth and involve a medium to high percentage of salt in the water. They include oceans, coral reefs, and estuaries. Coral reefs are usually found in shallow, warm waters and are important for controlling carbon dioxide levels and protecting coasts from strong currents. Estuaries involve both freshwater and salt water, protecting water quality while serving as centers of coastal communities. Marine biomes contribute substantially to global oxygen production and carbon dioxide absorption.

1. MARINE
BIOMES

2. BIOMES
• a biome is a major, geographically extensive
ecosystem, structurally characterized by its
dominant life forms
• most of the oceans are considered part of a single
biome, although areas with particularly unusual or
unique physical characteristics or inhabitants may be
considered as separate biomes

3. MARINE BIOMES
• marine biomes make up the largest percentage of
aquatic biomes on earth. unlike freshwater
biomes, these biomes involve a medium to high
percentage of salt in the water
• marine biomes generally have salt concentrations
that average 3%.

4. • marine algae and photosynthetic bacteria supply a
substantial portion of the world’s oxygen and consume
huge amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

5. 2 TYPES OF WATER BIOMES
• FRESHWATER
• rivers and streams
• lakes and ponds
• SALTWATER
• ocean
• estuaries
• seashores (tidal areas)

6. FRESHWATER BIOMES
• freshwater contains little or
no salt, so it has a low
salinity.
flowing freshwater = rivers and
streams
still freshwater = lakes and
ponds

7. flowing freshwater
• streams
• the faster a stream flows
the greater the amount of
dissolved oxygen in it.
faster water flows = oxygen

8. flowing freshwater
• streams
• the fish that live in
streams are adapted to
fast moving water

9. flowing freshwater
• rivers
• water moves slower in a river
and debris settles on the
bottom.
• because of this, rivers tend to
have more nutrients and less
dissolved oxygen.
nutrients and
oxygen

10. FRESHWATER
• ponds
• small, shallow bodies of water
• sunlight penetrates all the way to the
bottom
• most completely filled with plant
material
• very high amount of nutrients

11. FRESHWATER
• lakes
• larger and deeper than ponds
• plant growth is limited to the
shoreline
• sunlight does not penetrate to the
bottom= no plants after a certain
depth!

12. FRESHWATER
• LAKES

13. SALTWATER BIOMES

14. SALTWATER
• Estuaries (wetlands)
• area where a river meets an ocean
• mix of salt and freshwater
• located near coastlines, border land
• extremely fertile
• nutrient levels are higher than both
salt and freshwater

15. SALTWATER
• ESTUARIES

16. SALTWATER
• seashores
• tides have a huge influence on life
here
• intertidal zone- portion of the
shoreline that is covered with
water at high tide and exposed to
the air at low tide.

17. • Intertidal Zone
• can be sandy or rocky
• small fish, clams, crabs, other
mussels are trapped in the tidal
pools during low tide

18. INTERTIDAL ZONE

19. 2 MAIN LIFE ZONES
1. photic zone: surface of water
• phytoplankton and water plants that
use photosynthesis (sunlight
penetrates)
2. aphotic zone: no light/little light
• light levels too low to support
photosynthesis (no sunlight penetrates)

20. PLANKTO
N
• PHYTOPLANKTON
• unicellular algae
• Cyanobacteria
• ZOOPLANKTON
• planktonic animals
that feed on
phytoplankton

21. MARINE BIOMES
plankton are microscopic algae,
plants, and other organisms that
float on the surface of water
biomes.
They need
sunlight to
survive.

22. WHY IS PLANKTON SO
IMPORTANT?
• Gross Primary Productivity –
Rate at which an ecosystem’s
producers capture and store
chemical energy.
• Net Primary Productivity –
Rate at which all plants in
ecosystems produce useful
chemical energy.
• Ultraplankton is responsible
They are the first step in many aquatic
for 70% of primary
food chains
productivity near the ocean

23. OCEAN ZONATION

24. OCEANS
• DID YOU KNOW THAT LIFE ON PLANET EARTH
BEGAN IN THE OCEANS MORE THAN 3 BILLION
YEARS AGO?
• COVERS ABOUT
SURFACE
75%
OF
THE
EARTH’S
• THE FOUR MAIN OCEANS:
• PACIFIC OCEAN
• ATLANTIC OCEAN
• INDIAN OCEAN
• ARCTIC OCEAN
• THE EVAPORATION OF W
ATER FROM THE
OCEANS PROVIDES MOST OF THE PLANET’S
RAINFALL, AND OCEAN TEMPERATURES HAVE A

26. MARINE ZONATION
Like lakes, the marine
environment is generally
classified on the basis of:
1.LIGHT PENETRATION
•
Photic Zone
•
Aphotic Zone
2.DISTANCE FROM THE
SHORE
AND
W
ATER
DEPTH
•
Intertidal Zone
•
Neritic Zone
•
Oceanic Zone
3.OPEN
•
Pelagic Zone
BOTTOM
•
Benthic Zone
•
Abyssal Zone

27. • PHOTIC ZONE
• THE ZONE WHERE THE LIGHT PENETRATES.
• THERE IS SUFFICIENT LIGHT FOR PHOTOSYNTHESIS.
• APHOTIC ZONE
• VERY LITTLE LIGHT CAN PENETRATE.
• LIGHT IS INSUFFICIENT FOR PHOTOSYNTHESIS.
• INTER
TIDAL ZONE
• WHERE LAND MEETS W
ATER
• ALTERNATELY SUBMERGED AND EXPOSED TWICE
DAILY DIE TO TIDES
• CAN BE ROCKY OR SANDY
• NER
ITIC ZONE
• BEYOND INTERTIDAL
• INCLUDES SHALLOW REGIONS OVER THE
CONTINENTAL SHELVES

28. MAJOR LIFE ZONES AND
VERTICAL ZONES
High tide
Low tide
Open Sea
Coastal zone
Depth in
meters
Sun
Sea level
50
Euphotic Zone
100
Continental
shelf
200
500
Bathyal Zone
Continental
1,000
1,500
Slope
Abyssal Zone
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
10,000
Darkness
Estuarine
Zone
Photosynthesis
0

29. • OCEAN PELAGIC ZONE
• EXTENDS PAST CONTINENTAL SHELVES, CAN BE VERY DEEP, IS THE
OPEN WATER
• INCLUDES MOST OF THE OCEAN’S WATER.
• BENTHIC ZONE
• THE SUBSTRATE AT THE BOTTOM OF ALL AQUATIC BIOMES.
• MADE UP OF SAND AND ORGANIC AND INOR
GANIC
SEDIMENTS (“OOZE”).
• OCCUPIED BY COMMUNITIES OF ORGANISMS
COLLECTIVELY CALLED BENTHOS.
• A MAJOR SOURCE OF FOOD FOR THE BENTHOS
IS DEAD ORGANIC MATTER CALLED DETR
ITUS.
• ABYSSAL ZONE
• THE DEEPEST REGIONS OF THE OCEAN FLOOR.

30. CORAL REEFS
• ARE W
IDELY DISTRIBUTED IN WARM SHALLOW WATERS
• DOMINATED BY STRUCTURE OF CORAL ITSELF
• FORMED BY DIVERSE GROUP OF CNIDARIANS THAT SECRETE
HARD EXTERNAL SKELETONS MADE OF CALCIUM
CARBONATE
• CERATES A SUBSTRATE UPON WHICH OTHER CORALS,
SPONGES, ALGAE GROW
• VERY DIVERSE ASSORTMENT OF VERTEBRATES AND INVERTEBRATES
• VERY PRODUCTIVE
• CURRENTS AND WAVES CONSTANTLY RENEW NUTRIENTS
• LIGHT PENETRATES TO OCEAN FLOOR ALLOWING
PHOTOSYNTHESIS

31. CORAL REEFS
• coral reefs are usually found in shallow,
warm waters. they are found along
continents, islands, and atolls. coral reefs
are made of algae and tissues of animal
polyp. these areas tend to be poor in
nutrients, however the coral gets its
nutrients from the algae

32. IMPORTANCE OF CORAL
REEFS
• coral are very important in controlling how much
carbon dioxide is in the ocean water. without
coral, the amount of carbon dioxide in the water
would rise dramatically and that would affect all
living things on earth.
• in addition, coral reefs are very important because
they protect coasts from strong currents
and waves by slowing down the water before
it gets to the shore. that is why they are called
barrier reefs. they provide a barrier between the
ocean and the shore.

33. • coral reefs are the “rainforests” of
the ocean. reefs are ecologically
important ecosystems and have a high
biodiversity that serves as a storage
bank of rich genetic resources

37. MARINE FOOD PYRAMID

38. NOTES
• BIOME : LARGE ECOSYSTEM WITH DOMINANT
LIFE FORMS
• MARINE BIOMES MAKE UP THE LARGEST
PERCENTAGE OF AQUATIC BIOMES ON EARTH
(MEDIUM/HIGH LEVELS OF SALT)
• MARINE BIOMES INCLUDE OCEANS, CORAL
REEFS AND ESTUARIES
• APPROXIMATELY 71% OF THE EARTH'S
SURFACE IS COVERED BY OCEAN

39. NOTES
• THE WORLD OCEAN IS SEEN TO BE DIVIDED INTO FIVE
SUB OCEANS: PA FI O CEA , A N C O CEA , I DI N
CI C
N TLA TI
N N A
O CEA , A
N RCTI O CEA A D SO UTHERN O CEA
C
N N
N
• OCEAN BIOMES ARE DIVIDED INTO FOUR ZONES:
I TERTI L, PELA I BEN C A D A
N
DA
G C,
THI N BYSSA
L
• INTERTIDAL: WHERE OCEAN MEETS SHORE
• PELAGIC: MIXING OF COLD AND W
ARM OCEAN CURRENTS
• BENTHIC: BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN FLOOR (COLD TEMP,
DARK)
• ABYSSAL: DEEPEST ZONE AND INCLUDES MID-OCEAN
RIDGES

40. NOTES
 DRAMATIC FORMS OF WEATHER OCCURS OVER THE
OCEANS(EX: TROPICAL CYCLONES )
 OCEAN CURRENTS GREATLY AFFECT THE EARTH'S CLIMATE
BY TRANSFERRING WARM OR COLD AIR AND PRECIPITATION
TO COASTAL REGIONS, WHERE THEY MAY BE CARRIED
INLAND BY WINDS.
 THE ANTARCTIC CIRCUMPOLAR CURRENT ENCIRCLES THAT
CONTINENT, INFLUENCING THE AREA'S CLIMATE AND
CONNECTING CURRENTS IN SEVERAL OCEANS.
 AROUND HALF OF ALL CARBON DIOXIDE PRODUCED BY
HUMANS SINCE THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION HAS
DISSOLVED INTO THE WORLD'S OCEANS

41. • CORAL REEFS ARE USUALLY FOUND IN SHALLOW, WARM
WATERS
• CORAL ARE VERY IMPORTANT IN CONTROLLING HOW
MUCH CARBON DIOXIDE IS IN THE OCEAN WATER.
• CORAL REEFS PROTECT COASTS FROM STRONG
CURRENTS AND WAVES BY SLOWING DOWN THE WATER
BEFORE IT GETS TO THE SHORE
• CORAL REEFS HAVE A HIGH BIODIVERSITY THAT SERVES
AS A STORAGE BANK OF RICH GENETIC RESOURCES
• ESTUARIES INVOLVE BOTH FRESHWATER AND SALT
WATER. THEY PROTECT WATER QUALITY BY FILTERING
OUT DIRT AND POLLUTION AND ARE OFTEN THE
CENTERS OF COASTAL COMMUNITIES

42. THE END