Ocean Habitats Ecosystems

ocean habitats and ecosystems many different plants and animals rely on salt water from the sea some far out to sea others prefer life on the beach and still others like to make their homes in wet muddy swamps along the coast the places they live are called habitats when lots of plants animals and other organisms such as bacteria live together in one habitat they form an ecosystem let's dive in and take look at some of these unique ocean habitats literal zone the literal zone is divided into three sections first is the area beyond the high tide line where the land gets splashed and sprayed this includes cliffs sand dunes and wetlands lots of animals and plants like the humid air here next is the beach the tide comes in and out eroding cliffs and creating caves organisms here have to cope with constant changes in temperature light and salt levels during low tide crabs barnacles and seaweed can be found on the sand and in tide pools the final section of this zone is always under water the water is quite shallow and gets lots of sunlight seaweed loves to grow here most marine life lives in this part of the ocean every continent and island has shelf of shallow water close to the beach then all of sudden the land drops away and the water is very very deep estuaries at estuaries fresh water from rivers and streams meets saltwater from the ocean we call the water here brackish meaning it is slightly salty sediment pieces of sand stone and mud is carried along with the water as it flows into the estuary heading towards the ocean sediment is the main food source for many of the tiny organisms living in an estuary conditions in an estuary are affected by tides and seasons temperature salt levels turbidity how rough or calm the water is and depth are always changing some animals move to the shelter of an estuary to lay their eggs or rear their young some species even burrow into the wet mud at the water's edge to keep themselves safe kelp forests kelp is type of seaweed that grows in shallow waters it covers around quarter of the world's coastlines it prefers cooler waters in order to grow it needs plenty of light and nutrients stretching for miles and miles kelp forests provide food and shelter for creatures such as shrimp snails worms rockfish sea urchins and sea stars larger animals also live amongst the kelp including seals sea lions and whales sea birds such as gulls and cormorants love to die for food amongst the kelp kelp forests are good example of an ecosystem when sea creatures die they are eaten by bacteria the bacteria then release nutrients back into the water for the kelp to use as energy to grow new sea creatures eat the kelp when they die the cycle starts again hydrothermal vents the earth's crust is made up of tectonic plates floating on layer of molten rock called magma when two plates float away from each other the gap between them is called fissure many of these are underwater and get filled with seawater magma heats the water and pressure builds then suddenly the superheated water sometimes more than 450 degrees celsius shoots upwards carrying minerals from the crust along with it we call these explosive fissures hydrothermal vents as the minerals dissolve and harden they often form chimney shapes around the vent these can be up to 60 meters tall in spite of the heat and all the toxic chemicals coming out of the vent lots of organisms live in this ocean habitat this includes bacteria giant tube worms shrimp limpet clams octopuses and eels many use the chemicals for energy coral reef coral reefs might look like big plants but they're actually made up of hundreds and thousands of small animals called polyps they build hard skeletons around themselves out of calcium carbonate the same mineral found in pearls and shells when lots of coral colonies join together they become coral reef the biggest coral reef in the world is the great barrier reef in australia it's the size of about 70 million football fields that's bigger than the whole of the uk coral reefs are found in warm shallow water they provide protection for lots of animals and for humans too fish mollusks sea urchins and sponges all make their homes amongst the reefs in fact about quarter of all marine species live in coral reefs reefs also protect humans living along the coast they form barrier against powerful waves including tsunamis seamounts seamounts are extinct volcanoes deep underwater most of them form along mid-ocean ridges where two tectonic plates meet many seamounts also have hydrothermal vents they are scattered along the floor of every ocean in the world most of them are in the north pacific ocean if all the sea mounts in the world were put together they'd cover the whole of europe down at the bottom of the ocean the water is usually very still but sea mounts create underwater currents plankton gets swept up in these currents they attract all sorts of fish and marine mammals looking for food seamounts are also closer to the surface which makes them warmer coral lobsters mackerel crabs and tuna fish all thrive in this underwater habitat migratory animals journeying from one part of the world to another use seamounts as signposts and as places to feed before continuing their journey mangrove swamps mangroves are small trees that grow in estuaries and along shorelines they thrive best in warm places that are sheltered from the waves where sediment mud clay sand and stones build up to create wet muddy swamps full of nutrients unlike many plant species mangroves can cope with high levels of salt and low levels of oxygen since they grow in places where the tide goes in and out several times day they also have to deal with regular changes in temperature and moisture mangrove swamps benefit both humans and animals of all species of plant or tree mangroves absorb the most carbon dioxide their large root systems also provide protective barrier against erosion storms hurricanes and tsunamis mangrove swamps are quiet and sheltered which makes them the perfect place for animals to rear their young they're home to barnacles algae oysters sponges shrimps lobsters and crabs demersal and benthic zones seafloor the bottom of lake river sea or ocean is called the benthic zone it could be just few centimeters from the surface or it could be thousands of meters water the demersal zone is the layer of water just above it though only deep bodies of water have deversal zones in shallow water the floor is usually covered with layer of mud or soil meanwhile the ocean floor is mostly made of sand rock or even coral it is covered with ridges trenches sea mounts and rock or mineral formations lots of bacteria fungi and small animals live in the sediment on the ocean floor some eat bits of dead plants and animals that fall to the bottom of the ocean others make energy out of chemicals some animals burrow into the ocean floor while others are permanently attached to it those that are heavier than water spend most of their time resting on the ground but others can control how much they float or sink you