By Paula Arias, Ashley Kitchin, and Michaela George

 Fun Facts

 

1. The Pacific Ocean is the largest of all oceans and covers 48% of seawater. Larger than all land put together.

 

2. The Atlantic is the second largest Ocean. It covers 23% of all sea water.

 

3. The Ocean covers 70% of the Earth which is 3/4.

 

4.  The Ocean is the largest of all the ecosystems.

 

5. There are two types of coral in the ocean: soft coral, and hard coral

 

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6. The main kinds of animals in the sea are whales, dolphins, sharks, and seals which are some of the most popular kinds of sea mammals.

 

7. Most of the small fish in the sea are herbivores and the larger fish are carnivores.

 

8. The saltwater biome consists of the world's largest animal: the blue whale.

 

9. The growth of coral reefs is a very long process, taking it 100 years to grow an inch.

 

10. Worldwide, coral reefs take up 600,000 square miles and have over 500,000 species living within it.

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11. The deepest point in the ocean is  36,198 feet which is in the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific.

 

12.  As many as 100 million sharks are killed each year for their meat and fins. Which are used for shark fin soup. Hunters typically catch the sharks, de-fin them while alive and throw them back into the ocean where they either drown or bleed to death.

 

13. Antarctica has as much ice as the Atlantic Ocean has water.

 

14. Nearly 60 per cent of the world's remaining reefs are at risk of being lost in the next three decades.

 

15. In 1993, United States beaches were closed or swimmers advised not to get in the water over 2,400 times because of sewage contamination.

 

16. More than 97% of the Earths water is contained by the ocean.


17. "The worlds ocean contains nearly 20 million tons of gold."

 

This picture is an example of the sharks being killed and skinned for their fins!

 

 

 

Animals 

 Seagull- Seagulls are ground nesting carnivores that live off food such as crab and small fish. They are a coastal and inland species that venture far out to sea and around deciduous forests. Seagulls have been obsereved preying on live whales. Landing on the whales back as it surfaces to peck the meat.

 

The Great Black-backed Gull breeds on North American coasts and Islands. They nest near the sea and Ocean to live off fish, small prey, whales and other sea creatures.

 

 

 

Pelican- They are large birds that live inland and by coastal waters. Their diet consists of fish, amphibians, crustaceans and smaller birds. They catch fish by expanding their throat pouch. Then they drain the pouch and through a long process that can take up to a minute allows them to swallow .

 

The Brown Pelican of North America plunge-dives for its prey!

 

 

Blue Tang Fish- This particular type of fish is one of over 70 species of surgeonfish.  They are also referred to as regal tang, blue barber, blue doctor, blue tang surgeonfish, yellow barber and yellow doctorfish, and inhabit coastal areas, coral reefs, and inshore rocky or grassy places between 6 feet to 131 feet deep from New York to Brazil and around Ascension Island. The colors of the fish change as it matures. The blue and yellow both appear together over time. The adults average size is about 12 inches in length and live in groups of 10 or 12. 

 

They usually feed off of algae and their diet becomes a very important part of the health of the reefs, so that the algae doesn't overgrow. These magnificent fish ward off danger by thrashing their tail from side to side to protect themselves from harmful creatures of the sea.

 

 

Yellow Tang Fish- The diet of this fish has a strict pattern and eats almost everything that is green, (algae, grass, lettuce.....). Even though it is generally a herbivore, it is also known for eating small shrimp, some meat, and small animals as well.  It can vary in size from 1/4" to 8".  The Yellow Tang also has sharp spines near its tail that are used as a defense and also as an"anchor" in the rocks when it sleeps. They are also sometimes referred to as the scalpel fish.

 

Whales-

Whales like dolphins, breath through a blowhole that is located on the top of there head. There are various species of mammals including the blue, fin, humpback, Minke, Oraca, and more. Whales are large mammals, that are warm blooded. The flippers of a whale called flukes, do not have bones in them. They have strong muscle tissue in them that give whales power, use of direction, and some type of communication skills. Different Species of whales all eat different things.


resident-killer-whales_154.jpg

 Sharks-

Sharks have been around for about 400 million years. Sharks have both an upper and lower jaw, therefore it is very strong. Every different type of shark has different shaped teeth; and throughout there lifetime they can go through over 20,000 teeth in there lifetime.  Most sharks eat by themselves. They catch their food by swimming at a high speed behind their prey and attacking it. Sharks are carnivores and eat fish and other ocean mammals such as dolphins, seals, and seagulls. Some types of sharks even eat other sharks.

 Plants

 Red Algae- Is found in all oceans and its common in warm temperate and tropical climates. There is more than 4,000 known marine species of red algae. Few species are found in freshwater. Red algae is red because of the presence of pigment phycoerythrin; the pigment reflects red light and absorbs blue light.

 

It takes food in through their leaf-like fronds which are surrounded by nutrient-carrying seawater. Their roots are called holdfasts. They hold algae down firmly onto rock surfaces. Their reproduction may be triggered by factors such as day length. Red algae does not have a real stem, roots, seeds or leaves.

 

 

 

Maiden's Hair- Is found in many different areas of the ocean but is more commonly found on the coast of the country of Tonga. It is also known as Turtle Grass.  It is provided as a food source for many marine animal species and also acts as a valuable hiding place for fish and invertebrates. Marine plants such as these are the basic element of the food chain, and are the cause of marine animals' existence.

 

It contains a toxic substance that makes herbivorous fish not eat it which provides it as a source of adapting for its survival.  The "leaves" are more like thin blades of grass and similar to tufts of hair. They are normally attached to a rock the size of a fist. They are a part of the Cloridesmos species. 

 


Mermaids Fan Plant-

The mermaids fan plant is a green type of algae. It is found in the Atlantic ocean, most commonly in the Caribbean. As you can see from the picture below these plants are shaped like a fan.


This plant is useful to its environment because it reduces extra chemicals from the area such as nitrates. It is not common for fish and invertebrates to eat this plant, one reason being because it is hard. The size of this plant ranges from 3"-6".


 

 Climate

  • The Saltwater Biome is the largest biome in the world because with the ocean alone, it covers about 75% of the earth.
  • All 5 of earth's oceans are connected, (Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic, Indian, and Southern) and the largest seas are the Mediterranean, China, and Caribbean seas.
  • The water changes with the climate of the region or location, but is specific areas the climate stays the same year 'round so the creatures don't have to adapt to changing seasons.
  • The average temperature for all oceans is 39 degress Fahrenheit.
  • The lowest temperature is 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • The highest temperature is 88 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • The temperature gets warmer as you get closer to the equator and colder towards the poles.
  • The rainfall can be approximated from coastal weather data and air temperature from the water temperatures. The oceans are the major source of the moisture that is obtained through evaporation.

 

 

 Soil

Ocean/ Sea Soil: Soil from the sea and ocean is made up of varies minerals and objects. The soil is made up of silt, eroded shells, dead organisms and eroded bones. Silt is normally grain sized and is somewhere between sand and clay. Eroded shells is made up of  removed or broken shells. Same as before eroded bones are bones from the sea creatures that leave behind bits and pieces of bone. Dead organisms are organisms that are already dead and are left in the ocean.

 

 

Four Zones

There are four zones that make up the saltwater biome; The intertidal zone, Pelagic Zone, Benthic zone, and the abyssal zone. All four zones have different species of animals, and plants that live within them.


 

 

Intertidal Zone:
The intertidal zone is the top zone of the ocean, closest to land. This is the zone is where the ocean meets the land, in other words the shore. You can see the bottom during low tide. The Intertidal zone floor is coverd with mud + sand, and often contains alage plants, worms, clams, crabs, and shorebirds.

 

Pelagic Zone:

The Pelagic zone is mainly the surface of the open ocean. It is under the Intertidal zone, and also deeper than the intertidal zone. This zone is generaly cold. The temperature of this zone is made up of the warm and cold currents mixing. In the Pelagic zone, you will find animals such as dolphins and whales.

 

Benthic Zone:

The benthic zone is below the Pelagic Zone. It is made up of sand and dead organisms. The benthic zone is the slope leading down to the ocean floor. This zone gets increasingly colder and deeper the further down it goes.

 

Abyssal Zone:

The abyssal zone is the deepest layer of the ocean. It is the ocean floor and under. In this zone it is on average 3 degrees Celcius. This zone is very high in oxygen but very low in nutrients so there are less species that are able to live in that zone. Some species that are able to live in this enviroment are interverabrate and fish.

 

 

In the picture above you can see more acuratly where the zones are located, and how deep they are.

 

 

 

 Bibliography

Facts : UCMP."University of California Museum of Paleontology."      The Marine Biome. 2009. Web. 29 Sep 2009. http://ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/marine.php#oceans.

 

Bird Info: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "Brown Pelican." Cornell Lab of Ornithology : All about Birds. 2009. Web. 29 Sep 2009. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1189.

 

Google Ads."FAQ." Seagulls. 2003. Web. 29 Sep 2009. http://celestin.com/seagulls/faq.html.

 

Plants:  Neil Frank."Control of Red Algae." Control of Red Algae in the Freshwater Aquarium. 2009. Web. 29 Sep 2009. http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Algae/red-algae.html.

 

Vaage, Carol. "Biomes." Graphic Garden. 2009. Web. 29 Sep 2009. http://www.animalsoftheworld.ecsd.net/biomes.htm.

 

Thomas, R. "Water Biome: Saltwater." Planet Earth. 2008. kidcyber, Web. 29 Sep 2009. http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/ocean.htm.

 

"Maiden's Hair Plant." LiveAquaria.com. 2009. Foster & Smith Inc., Web. 29 Sep 2009. http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=490+659&pcatid=659.

 

Nehring, Nancy. "Blue Tang." The Nature Conservancy. 2009. Web. 29 Sep 2009. http://www.nature.org/animals/fish/animals/bluetang.html.

 

Blasiola, George. "Yellow Tang." WhoZoo. 2007. Barrons Educational Series Inc. , Web. 29 Sep 2009. http://whozoo.org/Anlife99/loriwood/tang3.htm.


"Whales and Dolphins Sea Mammals." Ocean Mammals. Think Quest, Web. 4 Oct 2009. <http://library.thinkquest.org/4331/>.

 

 "Cool Antarctica." Whales. 29/sept/2009. Paul Ward, Web. 4 Oct 2009. <http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/wildlife/whales/whales.htm>.  

 

 <www.savetheocean.org>


Picture Sources

 

http://www.pelagiczone.com/Pelagic/images/PelagicZoneDiagram.gif

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 
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