MARINE ECOLOGY

WHAT IS MARINE ECOLOGY?

Marine Ecology is the scientific

study of marine-life habitat,
populations, and interactions among
organisms and the surrounding
environment including their
abiotic and biotic factors.
SOME FACTS ABOUT OCEAN

 Oceans cover 70 percent of the Earth’s surface.

 More than 90 percent of the planet’s living biomass is found in
the oceans.
 While there are hundreds of thousands of known marine life
forms, there are many that are yet to be discovered, some
scientists suggest that there could actually be millions of
marine life forms out there.
 Thelargest ocean on Earth is the Pacific Ocean, it covers
around 30% of the Earth’s surface.
 ThePacific Ocean’s name has an original meaning of
‘peaceful sea’.
TYPES OF MARINE ORGANISMS

BENTHIC ORGANISM

- Are organisms that lives on

the surface of the sea. They
are organisms that usually
walks or crawl on the sea bed.
EXAMPLES OF BENTHIC ORGANISMS

Worms, lobsters and starfish

PELAGIC ORGANISMS

-Are organisms that are living in

the water (drifting or swimming).
-They are the organisms that we
usually see when we are diving.
EXAMPLES OF PELAGIC ORGANISMS

Fishes, turtles, sharks, whales and others

MARINE ECOSYSTEMS
 Rocky Intertidal

 Estuary

 Coral Reef

 Open Ocean

 Deep Ocean

 Hydrothermal Vents
ROCKY INTERTIDAL
A VERY CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT!

 Fluctuatesbetween being
underwater and being
exposed to the sun and wind

 Highlyvariable temperatures
and salinity

 Constantlybattered by the
strong waves coming from
the sea
HOW CAN AN ORGANISM ROCKY SURVIVE IN AN
INTERTIDAL ECOSYSTEM?
Seal in moisture

Adhere to rocks

Have the ability to pull the body into a

protective cover.
EXAMPLE OF ORGANISMS THAT LIVE IN INTERTIDAL
ECOSYSTEM
QUESTION:

Why do some species choose

to live on this type of
environment?
 ESTUARY
WHERE RIVER MEETS THE SEA!

 Mixing
of ocean and fresh
water… highly variable salinity

 Tidal Variations

 Highnutrient and sediment

load… creates a very fertile
farmland!
 ESTUARY ECOSYSTEM

Usually includes either :

 Salt marsh (Temperate Zones)

 Mangrove Forest (Tropics)

EXAMPLE OF ORGANISMS THAT LIVE IN ESTUARY
ECOSYSTEM
- Snail, frogs but mostly are birds.
QUESTION:

Why Estuary important part

of the environment?
CORAL REEFS
RAINBOW AT THE SEA!
Located in warm and
clear, shallow waters

Very abundant in life

Brightly colored
organisms
WHAT IS CORAL AND ITS COMPONENTS
 Same phylum as anemones and
jellyfish

 Depositcalcium carbonate
skeleton

 Made up of tiny components

called POLYPS

 ZOOXANTHELLAE - Any various

dinoflagellates that live within
the cells of other organisms
CORAL BLEACHING

Coral Bleaching happens

when ZOOXANTHELLAE
abandon corals when
temperatures get too high
even only at 1 degree Celsius!
QUESTION:

Isa coral a type of a plant, an animal,

or a rock?
OPEN OCEAN
THE GROUND’S SKY!

 Very
deep photic zone – not
much sediment suspended in
water

 Has an average depth of 1000m.

 Largest ecosystem on the planet

 Dominated
by fish, sharks, and
commonly whales.
EXAMPLES OF ORGANISMS THAT LIVES ON OPEN OCEAN ECOSYSTEM

- fishes, sharks, dolphins, stingray and

others
QUESTION:

Where does Red Tide came from?

DEEP OCEAN
THE ABYSS!
 Below the photic zone

 Constant Darkness

 Cold(usually around 1 – 2 degrees

Celsius)

 Very high pressure

 Organisms are few and far from each

other.
DEEP OCEAN ADAPTATION
Most of the organisms in this ecosystem has red, black,
or clear body

Some organisms have bioluminescence to see in the

darkness or to attract preys

Huge mouth to eat food in any available form.

Permanent mating arrangements

EXAMPLES OF ORGANISMS THAT LIVE ON DEEP OCEAN
QUESTION:

 How do deep-sea fishes not get

crushed by the tremendous pressure of
the ocean at the sea floor?
 HYDROTHERMAL VENTS
VOLCANOES UNDER THE WATER!
Deep ocean “springs”
associated with cracks in
Earth’s crust.

Whole communities based

on sulfides, not sunlight

Discovered around 1977

HOW LIFE WORKS AT THE HYDROTHERMAL VENTS?
Hot, mineral-rich water steams out of Earth’s Crust

Specialchemosynthetic bacteria metabolize

hydrogen sulfide into sugars the same way
photosynthetic organisms use sunlight

Because of a very hot environment, organisms

must have a very thick protection against the
heat for them to survive.
EXAMPLE OF ORGANISMS THAT LIVE ON
HYDROTHERMAL VENTS
QUESTION:

What is the main

component of the smoke
coming out from the vents?
 MARINE VERTEBRATES

are the most structurally complex

organisms.
It occupy all major marine habitats
it has Classes
 THE CLASSES OF MARINE VERTEBRATES
 Agnatha (jawless fishes)
-they lack the paired appendages, lower biting jaws and skin
scales so noticeable in other fishes
-orders: hagfishes and lampreys
 Pisces (formely Osteichthyes) (bony fishes)
-orders: lobe-finned fishes, Lungfishes, and Ray-finned fishes
 Class Elasmobranchii (formerly Chondrichthyes )
-orders: sharks, skates, rays and chimeras
Tetrapods- are four-limbed, air-breathing
vertebrates with a terrestrial predecessor
somewhere in their distant evolutionary past.
-Class Aves (birds)
-Class Mammalia (mammals)
-Class Reptilia (reptiles)
 Superclass Agnatha and Pisces are all form of fishes.
 Agnatha contains 105 species of jawless fish such as
lampreys and hagfish.
 Piscescontains at least 27, 712 species of bony fishes
including Actinopterygii which contains over 20, 000 species
of ray-fineed fishes,
Elasmorbranchii with at least 928 species of sharks, rays, and
skates, Holocephali with atleast 928 species of chimaeras
and sarcopterygii which contains lobe-fineed fishes such as
lungfishes and coelacanths.
 In
Tetrapoda, Class Aves contains at least 9, 842 species,
class mammalia at least 4, 835 species and class reptilia
contains at least 3, 082 species which are all have species
common in both terrestrial and marine environments
 MARINE BIRDS (CLASS AVES)

Are characterized by a variety of adaptations to marine

conditions like the ability of feathers to resist water, the
presence of salt glands, curved bills and webbed feet and
adapted for flight.
Example:
penguins, albatross, pelicans, gulls
 Marine Mammals (Class Mammalia)
-are vertebrates that have hair or fur, blubber
-are warm blooded, use lungs to breathe air, bear live young and produce
milk through mammary glands.
-has a four common groups :
*PINNIPEDS (FAMILY OTARIIDAE (SEA LIONS AND FUR SEALS), FAMILY
PHOCIDAE (SEALS), FAMILY ODOBENIDAE (WALRUSES);

*CARNIVORES (PINNIPEDS AND FAMILY URSIDAE (POLAR BEARS) AND

FAMILY MUSTELIDAE (SEA OTTERS));

*CETACEANS (SUBORDER MYSTICETI (BALEEN WHALES) AND

SUBORDER ODONTOCETI (TOOTHED WHALES SUCH AS SPERM WHALES, ORCA,
DOLPHINS, AND PORPOISES); AND

*SIRENIANS (FAMILY DUGONGIDAE (2 SPECIES OF DUGONGS) AND

FAMILY TRICHECHIDAE (3 SPECIES OF MANATEES).
 MARINE REPTILES (CLASS REPTILIA)
-is an animal that has very strong, dry skin sometimes covered with
scales.
-are cold-blooded or ectothermic , use lungs to breathe, and have
tough skin without feathers or hair.
-The majority of marine reptiles are sea turtles and sea snakes, as well
as the marine iguana, and the saltwater crocodile
-Marine Reptiles has four orders:
-Testudines (turtles, terrapins, and tortoises)
-Squamata (lizards, worm lizards, and snakes)
-Crocodilia (crocodiles, alligators, gavials, and caimans)
-Rhynchocephalia (two species of lizard-like tuataras ).
 MARINE INVERTEBRATES
-Lack backbones
-Over 98% of species on Earth are invertebrates that rely on other
strategies than a backbone for support such as hydrostatic
pressure, exoskeletons , and shells.
-The most common Marine Invertebrates
-Sponges
-Cnidarians
-marine worms
-Lophophorates
-Mollusks
-Arthropods
-Echinoderms
-hemichordates
-Sponges-simple animals that originated with the first animal life in the Precambrian times
-Cnidarians-evolved during the Precambrian era and are some of the earliest multicellualr
life forms known.
Example of this are Jellyfishes
-marine worms-live underneath rocks near the edge of the ocean, in algae, or anywhere
there is mud or sand.
-Lophophorates-
-Mollusks- eg. oysters, chitons, clams, snails, slugs, octopus, and squid
-Arthropods-the largest phylum in the taxonomic system and is composed of insects,
crustaceans, and arachnids. Nearly 4/5 of all living animals are arthropods.
Examples: lobsters, crabs, barnacles, and shrimp in the class Crustacea
-Echinoderms-Echinoderms lack a head and have five-point radial symmetry. These
fascinating animals live only in marine environments
Example: Starfishes
-hemichordates(acorn worms)- are a small group of marine worms closely related to
pogonophorans. These worms are found in shallow water and live under rocks or burrows.
QUIZ:
1. What is the meaning of the Pacific Ocean’s name?

2-3. Give the two types of marine organisms.

4. It is a marine invertebrate that lacks a head and

have five-point radial symmetry.

5. It is a marine ecosystem that is sometimes called

deep ocean springs.
QUIZ:

6. It is a marine ecosystem that is sometimes called the abyss

7. It is a marine ecosystem where the river meets the sea.

8-9. Give atleast two orders of marine reptiles.

10. Class is formerly known as Chondrichtyes.