Chapter 6

Biological Productivity
 Introduction

Marine Ecology
 Basic Ecology
physical and chemical parameters
affecting distribution and abundance
An ecosystem includes both the living
(biotic) and non-living (abiotic) portions
of the environment.
Examples include: salt marshes, estuaries,
coral reefs, the North Pacific Gyre.
 Classification of Organisms
by Environment
horizontal: neritic | oceanic
vertical:

epipelagic (top) / euphotic (good)

mesopelagic (middle) / disphotic (low)
bathypelagic (deep) / aphotic (without)
abyssopelagic (bottomless)
Divisions of the Marine Environment
Figure 9-1
 Classification of Organisms
by Lifestyle

Scientists have established another

classification scheme to categorize biota
on the basis of lifestyle. The major groups
are:
plankton (floaters)
nekton (swimmers)
benthos (bottom dwellers)
 Plankton
weak swimmers, drifters, unable to
counteract currents.
Phytoplankton (plants)
Zooplankton (animals)
 Nekton
active swimmers capable of counteracting
currents.
Fish
Squids
Reptiles
Birds
Mammals
 Distribution of
Marine Lifestyles
16.7% of Earths animals are marine
2% inhabit pelagic environment (most of
the oceans are cold and dark)
98% are benthic!
 Benthos
Epiflora or epifauna live on the sea
bottom.
Infauna live in the sea bottom.
Benthic plants - restricted to shallow
waters (light)
Benthic animals occur everywhere from
shallow depths to the deep sea.
 Research Video Clips:
Live fast, die young...
 Basic Ecology
physical and chemical parameters
affecting distribution and abundance
an ecosystem includes both the living
(biotic) and non-living (abiotic) portions
of the environment.
Temperature, salinity
 Hydrostatic Pressure
Pressure caused by the height of water.
Function of water height and water density
Pressure generally increases at a rate of 1
atm per 10 m of water.
( or 16 psi per 10 m depth)
Think Youre Under
Pressure Now?
 Hydrostatic Pressure
(Cont.)

enormous in the deep sea yet animals live

there.
Animals do not contain gases.
However, mesopelagic fish which have
gas-filled swim bladders to help maintain
neutral buoyancy
unable to move rapidly between depths
pressure change could cause bladder explode.
Biological Productivity
 Conditions for Life in the Sea
Consider the main biochemical reaction for
life in the sea, and on earth in general:
6H2O + 6CO2 + energy + nutrients = C6H12O6 + 6O2
Focus on left side of equation
What is in short supply in the sea and thus
limits the amount of life in the ocean??
 Absorbing Nutrients
6H2O + 6CO2 + energy + nutrients = C6H12O6 + 6O2
Phytoplankton are
base of the food chain
Most important
primary producers of
complex sugars and
oxygen

Lauderia sp.
The Marine Food Web
 Absorbing Nutrients
Nutrients absorbed by
plants through
diffusion across a
semi-permeable
membrane

Lauderia sp.
 Diffusion:
molecules move from high to low concentrations
 Which Nutrients are in Short
Supply?
Nitrogen (N) as Nitrate NO3 (-2)
Phosphorus (P) as Phosphate PO4 (-2)
Silicon (Si) as Silicate SiO4 (-2)
Phosphate and Nitrate in the Pacific
Silicate in the Pacific
 Biolimiting Nutrients
N, P, and Si are exhausted first in Eq.
surface waters during photosynthesis
Essential to the growth of phytoplankton
If these biolimiting nutrients increase in
sea water, life increases
If these biolimiting nutrients decrease in
sea water, life decreases
Where would you expect to find the highest
biomass in the Pacific??
CZCS Global Primary Production
How Does Nutrient Distribution Compare w/
Dissolved Oxygen?
Dissolved O2 Reverse of
Nutrients
O2 is high in the surface
and mixed layer
O2 decreases to a
minimum at base of
thermocline
O2 then steadily
increases with depth
 Why is the Concentration of
Oxygen High in the Mixed Layer??
Hint #1: How and where is oxygen produced
in the sea???
6H2O + 6CO2 + energy + nutrients = C6H12O6 + 6O2
Hint #2: How can oxygen be mixed downward
from the atmosphere into the ocean?
How is Oxygen Removed from the
Thermocline & Slightly Below??
 Dead and decaying organic matter sinks
downward from surface waters
Rate of sinking decreases
as it encounters the cold,
dense water of the
thermocline
Material decays (oxidizes)
at the thermocline, which
strips O2 out of the water
and returns nutrients to the
sea
Cold, nutrient-rich water of
the thermocline is returned
to sunlit surface waters by
way of upwelling
CZCS Global Primary Production