














Search
Donate
 Create account
 Log in

Contents

hide

(Top)


Overview


Ocean currents


Topography


Biomass


Coastal


Surface waters


Open ocean


Sea floor
 
Anthropogenic impacts


Gallery


See also


References


External links

Marine habitat
 Article
 Talk
 Read
 Edit
 View history
Tools














From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about a specific type of environment within the marine ecosystem. For
the broader concept with all interactions and characteristics of the marine
environment, see marine ecosystem.
 Coral reefs provide marine habitats
for tube sponges, which in turn become marine habitats for fishes

Marine habitats

Coastal habitats

 Littoral zone
 Intertidal zone
 Estuaries
 Mangrove forests
 Seagrass meadows
 Kelp forests
 Coral reefs
 Continental shelf
 Neritic zone

Ocean surface
 Surface microlayer
 Epipelagic zone

Open ocean
 Pelagic zone
 Oceanic zone

Sea floor
  Seamounts
 Hydrothermal vents
 Cold seeps
 Brine pools
 Demersal zone
 Benthic zone
 Marine sediment

 v
 t
 e

A marine habitat is a habitat that supports marine life. Marine life depends in some
way on the saltwater that is in the sea (the term marine comes from the Latin mare,
meaning sea or ocean). A habitat is an ecological or environmental area inhabited by
one or more living species.[1] The marine environment supports many kinds of these
habitats.

Marine habitats can be divided into coastal and open ocean habitats. Coastal
habitats are found in the area that extends from as far as the tide comes in on
the shoreline out to the edge of the continental shelf. Most marine life is found in
coastal habitats, even though the shelf area occupies only seven percent of the total
ocean area. Open ocean habitats are found in the deep ocean beyond the edge of
the continental shelf.

Alternatively, marine habitats can be divided into pelagic and demersal zones.
Pelagic habitats are found near the surface or in the open water column, away from
the bottom of the ocean. Demersal habitats are near or on the bottom of the ocean.
An organism living in a pelagic habitat is said to be a pelagic organism, as in pelagic
fish. Similarly, an organism living in a demersal habitat is said to be a demersal
organism, as in demersal fish. Pelagic habitats are intrinsically shifting and
ephemeral, depending on what ocean currents are doing.

Marine habitats can be modified by their inhabitants. Some marine organisms,

like corals, kelp, mangroves and seagrasses, are ecosystem engineers which
reshape the marine environment to the point where they create further habitat for
other organisms. By volume the ocean provides most of the habitable space on the
planet.[2]

Overview
Part of a series of overviews on

Marine life
  Habitats
 Microorganisms
 Microbiomes
 Viruses
 Prokaryotes
 Protists
 Fungi
 Invertebrates
 Vertebrates
 Primary production
 Food web
 Carbon pump
 Biogeochemical cycles
 Human impact
 Conservation

 Marine life portal

 v
 t
 e

In contrast to terrestrial habitats, marine habitats are shifting and ephemeral.

Swimming organisms find areas by the edge of a continental shelf a good habitat,
but only while upwellings bring nutrient rich water to the surface. Shellfish find habitat
on sandy beaches, but storms, tides and currents mean their habitat continually
reinvents itself.

The presence of seawater is common to all marine habitats. Beyond that many other
things determine whether a marine area makes a good habitat and the type of
habitat it makes. For example:

 temperature – is affected by geographical latitude, ocean

currents, weather, the discharge of rivers, and by the presence
of hydrothermal vents or cold seeps
 sunlight – photosynthetic processes depend on how deep and turbid the
water is
  nutrients – are transported by ocean currents to different marine habitats
from land runoff, or by upwellings from the deep sea, or they sink through
the sea as marine snow
 salinity – varies, particularly in estuaries or near river deltas, or by
hydrothermal vents
 dissolved gases – oxygen levels in particular, can be increased by wave
actions and decreased during algal blooms
 acidity – this is partly to do with dissolved gases above, since the acidity of
the ocean is largely controlled by how much carbon dioxide is in the water.
 turbulence – ocean waves, fast currents and the agitation of water affect
the nature of habitats
 cover – the availability of cover such as the adjacency of the sea bottom,
or the presence of floating objects
 substrate – The slope, orientation, profile and rugosity of hard substrates,
and particle size, sorting and density of unconsolidated sediment bottoms
can make a big difference to the life forms that can settle on it.
 the occupying organisms themselves – since organisms modify their
habitats by the act of occupying them, and some, like corals, kelp,
mangroves and seagrasses, create further habitats for other organisms.

Only 29 percent of the world

surface is land. The rest is ocean, home to the marine habitats. The oceans are
nearly four kilometres deep on average and are fringed with coastlines that run for
nearly 380,000 kilometres.
There are five major oceans, of which the Pacific Ocean is nearly as large as the rest
put together. Coastlines fringe the land for nearly 380,000 kilometres.

Area Volume[3] Mean Max

Coastline
Ocean million % million cu % depth depth % Ref
km
km2 km km km

Pacific 49.
155.6 46.4 679.6 4.37 10.924 135,663 [4]

Ocean 6

Atlantic 22.
76.8 22.9 313.4 4.08 8.605 111,866 [5]

Ocean 5
 Indian 19.
68.6 20.4 269.3 3.93 7.258 66,526 [6]

Ocean 6

Southern
20.3 6.1 91.5 6.7 4.51 7.235 17,968 [7]

Ocean

Arctic
14.1 4.2 17.0 1.2 1.21 4.665 45,389 [8]

Ocean

Overall 335.3 1370.8[9] 4.09 10.924 377,412

Land runoff, pouring into the sea, can

contain nutrients
Altogether, the ocean occupies 71 percent of the world surface, averaging nearly
four kilometres in depth. By volume, the ocean contains more than 99 percent of the
Earth's liquid water.[10][11][12] The science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke has pointed out
it would be more appropriate to refer to the planet Earth as the planet Sea or the
planet Ocean.[13][14]

Marine habitats can be broadly divided

into pelagic and demersal habitats. Pelagic habitats are the habitats of the
open water column, away from the bottom of the ocean. Demersal habitats are the
habitats that are near or on the bottom of the ocean. An organism living in a pelagic
habitat is said to be a pelagic organism, as in pelagic fish. Similarly, an organism
living in a demersal habitat is said to be a demersal organism, as in demersal fish.
Pelagic habitats are intrinsically ephemeral, depending on what ocean currents are
doing.

The land-based ecosystem depends on topsoil and fresh water, while the marine
ecosystem depends on dissolved nutrients washed down from the land.[15]

Ocean deoxygenation poses a threat to marine habitats, due to the growth of low
oxygen zones.[16]

Ocean currents
Main article: Ocean current

This algae bloom occupies

sunlit epipelagic waters off the southern coast of England. The algae are maybe
feeding on nutrients from land runoff or upwellings at the edge of the continental
shelf.

North Atlantic
gyre
North Atlantic
gyre
North Atlantic
gyre
Indian
Ocean
gyre
North
Pacific
gyre
South
Pacific
gyre
South Atlantic
gyre
 Ocean gyres rotate clockwise in the north and counterclockwise in the south
In marine systems, ocean currents have a key role determining which areas are
effective as habitats, since ocean currents transport the basic nutrients needed to
support marine life.[17] Plankton are the life forms that inhabit the ocean that are so
small (less than 2 mm) that they cannot effectively propel themselves through the
water, but must drift instead with the currents. If the current carries the right
nutrients, and if it also flows at a suitably shallow depth where there is plenty of
sunlight, then such a current itself can become a suitable habitat for
photosynthesizing tiny algae called phytoplankton. These tiny plants are the primary
producers in the ocean, at the start of the food chain. In turn, as the population of
drifting phytoplankton grows, the water becomes a suitable habitat for zooplankton,
which feed on the phytoplankton. While phytoplankton are tiny drifting
plants, zooplankton are tiny drifting animals, such as the larvae of fish and marine
invertebrates. If sufficient zooplankton establish themselves, the current becomes a
candidate habitat for the forage fish that feed on them. And then if sufficient forage
fish move to the area, it becomes a candidate habitat for larger predatory fish and
other marine animals that feed on the forage fish. In this dynamic way, the current
itself can, over time, become a moving habitat for multiple types of marine life.

Ocean currents can be generated by differences in the density of the water. How
dense water is depends on how saline or warm it is. If water contains differences in
salt content or temperature, then the different densities will initiate a current. Water
that is saltier or cooler will be denser, and will sink in relation to the surrounding
water. Conversely, warmer and less salty water will float to the surface. Atmospheric
winds and pressure differences also produces surface currents, waves and seiches.
Ocean currents are also generated by the gravitational pull of the sun and moon
(tides), and seismic activity (tsunami).[17]

The rotation of the Earth affects the direction ocean currents take, and explains
which way the large circular ocean gyres rotate in the image above left. Suppose a
current at the equator is heading north. The Earth rotates eastward, so the water
possesses that rotational momentum. But the further the water moves north, the
slower the earth moves eastward. If the current could get to the North Pole, the earth
would not be moving eastward at all. To conserve its rotational momentum, the
further the current travels north the faster it must move eastward. So the effect is that
the current curves to the right. This is the Coriolis effect. It is weakest at the equator
and strongest at the poles. The effect is opposite south of the equator, where
currents curve left.[17]

Topography
This section is an excerpt from Seabed § [Link]

World map with ocean topography

Seabed topography (ocean topography or marine topography) refers to the shape of
the land (topography) when it interfaces with the ocean. These shapes are obvious
along coastlines, but they occur also in significant ways underwater. The
effectiveness of marine habitats is partially defined by these shapes, including the
way they interact with and shape ocean currents, and the way sunlight diminishes
when these landforms occupy increasing depths. Tidal networks depend on the
balance between sedimentary processes and hydrodynamics however,
anthropogenic influences can impact the natural system more than any physical
driver.[18]

Marine topographies include coastal and oceanic landforms ranging from

coastal estuaries and shorelines to continental shelves and coral reefs. Further out in
the open ocean, they include underwater and deep sea features such as ocean rises
and seamounts. The submerged surface has mountainous features, including a
globe-spanning mid-ocean ridge system, as well as undersea volcanoes,[19] oceanic
trenches, submarine canyons, oceanic plateaus and abyssal plains.

The mass of the oceans is approximately 1.35×1018 metric tons, or about 1/4400 of
the total mass of the Earth. The oceans cover an area of 3.618×108 km2 with a mean
depth of 3,682 m, resulting in an estimated volume of 1.332×109 km3.[20]
Depth Range (meters)[21] Seafloor Area (km2) Seafloor Percentage

0 – 200 26,402,000 7.30%

201 – 1000 15,848,000 4.38%

1001 – 4000 127,423,000 35.22%

4001 – 6000 188,395,000 52.08%

6001 – 7000 3,207,000 0.89%

7001 – 8000 320,000 0.09%

8001 – 9000 111,000 0.03%

9000 – 10,000 37,000 0.01%

10,000 + 2,000 < 0.01%

Biomass
See also: Marine biomass
One measure of the relative importance of different marine habitats is the rate at
which they produce biomass.

Total
Biomass Total productio
productivit Re area Re n Comme
Producer
y f (millio f (billion nt
(gC/m2/yr) n km2) tonnes
C/yr)

swamps and marsh Includes

2,500 [22]

es freshwater

coral reefs 2,000 [22]

0.28 [23]
0.56

algal beds 2,000 [22]

river estuaries 1,800 [22]

open ocean 125 [22][24]

311 39

Coastal
 Coastlines can be volatile habitats
Main article: Marine coastal ecosystems
Marine coasts are dynamic environments which constantly change, like the ocean
which partially shape them. The Earth's natural processes,
including weather and sea level change, result in the erosion, accretion and
resculpturing of coasts as well as the flooding and creation of continental
shelves and drowned river valleys.

The main agents responsible for deposition and erosion along coastlines
are waves, tides and currents. The formation of coasts also depends on the nature of
the rocks they are made of – the harder the rocks the less likely they are to erode, so
variations in rock hardness result in coastlines with different shapes.

Tides often determine the range over which sediment is deposited or eroded. Areas
with high tidal ranges allow waves to reach farther up the shore, and areas with
lower tidal ranges produce deposition at a smaller elevation interval. The tidal range
is influenced by the size and shape of the coastline. Tides do not typically cause
erosion by themselves; however, tidal bores can erode as the waves surge up
river estuaries from the ocean.[25]

Shores that look permanent through the short perceptive of a human lifetime are in
fact among the most temporary of all marine structures. [26]
Waves erode coastline as they break on shore releasing their energy; the larger the
wave the more energy it releases and the more sediment it moves. Sediment
deposited by waves comes from eroded cliff faces and is moved along the coastline
by the waves. Sediment deposited by rivers is the dominant influence on the amount
of sediment located on a coastline.[27]

The sedimentologist Francis Shepard classified coasts as primary or secondary.[28]

  Primary coasts are shaped by non-marine processes, by changes in the
land form. If a coast is in much the same condition as it was when sea
level was stabilised after the last ice age, it is called a primary coast.
[28]
"Primary coasts are created by erosion (the wearing away of soil or
rock), deposition (the buildup of sediment or sand) or tectonic activity
(changes in the structure of the rock and soil because of earthquakes).
Many of these coastlines were formed as the sea level rose during the last
18,000 years, submerging river and glacial valleys to form bays and
fjords."[29] An example of a primary coast is a river delta, which forms when
a river deposits soil and other material as it enters the sea.[29]
 Secondary coasts are produced by marine processes, such as the action
of the sea or by creatures that live in it. Secondary coastlines include sea
cliffs, barrier islands, mud flats, coral reefs, mangrove swamps and salt
marshes.[29]

The global continental shelf, highlighted in light green, defines the extent of marine
coastal habitats, and occupies 5% of the total world area
Continental coastlines usually have a continental shelf, a shelf of relatively shallow
water, less than 200 metres deep, which extends 68 km on average beyond the
coast. Worldwide, continental shelves occupy a total area of about 24 million km 2 (9
million sq mi), 8% of the ocean's total area and nearly 5% of the world's total area. [30]
[31]
Since the continental shelf is usually less than 200 metres deep, it follows that
coastal habitats are generally photic, situated in the sunlit epipelagic zone. This
means the conditions for photosynthetic processes so important for primary
production, are available to coastal marine habitats. Because land is nearby, there
are large discharges of nutrient rich land runoff into coastal waters. Further,
periodic upwellings from the deep ocean can provide cool and nutrient rich currents
along the edge of the continental shelf.

As a result, coastal marine life is the most abundant in the world. It is found in tidal
pools, fjords and estuaries, near sandy shores and rocky coastlines, around coral
reefs and on or above the continental shelf. Coastal fish include small forage fish as
well as the larger predator fish that feed on them. Forage fish thrive in inshore waters
where high productivity results from upwelling and shoreline run off of nutrients.
Some are partial residents that spawn in streams, estuaries and bays, but most
complete their life cycle in the zone.[32] There can also be a mutualism between
species that occupy adjacent marine habitats. For example, fringing reefs just
below low tide level have a mutually beneficial relationship with mangrove forests at
high tide level and sea grass meadows in between: the reefs protect the mangroves
and seagrass from strong currents and waves that would damage them or erode the
sediments in which they are rooted, while the mangroves and seagrass protect the
coral from large influxes of silt, fresh water and pollutants. This additional level of
variety in the environment is beneficial to many types of coral reef animals, which for
example may feed in the sea grass and use the reefs for protection or breeding. [33]

Coastal habitats are the most visible marine habitats, but they are not the only
important marine habitats. Coastlines run for 380,000 kilometres, and the total
volume of the ocean is 1,370 million cu km. This means that for each metre of coast,
there is 3.6 cu km of ocean space available somewhere for marine habitats.

Waves and currents shape the

intertidal shoreline, eroding the softer rocks and transporting and grading loose
particles into shingles, sand or mud
Intertidal
Main article: Intertidal zone
Intertidal zones, those areas close to shore, are constantly being exposed and
covered by the ocean's tides. A huge array of life lives within this zone.

Shore habitats range from the upper intertidal zones to the area where land
vegetation takes prominence. It can be underwater anywhere from daily to very
infrequently. Many species here are scavengers, living off of sea life that is washed
up on the shore. Many land animals also make much use of the shore and intertidal
habitats. A subgroup of organisms in this habitat bores and grinds exposed rock
through the process of bioerosion.

Sandy shores
 Sandy shores provide shifting homes
to many species
See also: Beach
Sandy shores, also called beaches, are coastal shorelines where sand accumulates.
Waves and currents shift the sand, continually building and eroding the
shoreline. Longshore currents flow parallel to the beaches, making waves break
obliquely on the sand. These currents transport large amounts of sand along coasts,
forming spits, barrier islands and tombolos. Longshore currents also commonly
create offshore bars, which give beaches some stability by reducing erosion.[34]

Sandy shores are full of life. The grains of sand host diatoms, bacteria and
other microscopic creatures. Some fish and turtles return to certain beaches
and spawn eggs in the sand. Birds habitat beaches,
like gulls, loons, sandpipers, terns and pelicans. Aquatic mammals, such sea lions,
recuperate on them. Clams, periwinkles, crabs, shrimp, starfish and sea urchins are
found on most beaches.[35]

Sand is a sediment made from small grains or particles with diameters between
about 60 μm and 2 mm.[36] Mud (see mudflats below) is a sediment made from
particles finer than sand. This small particle size means that mud particles tend to
stick together, whereas sand particles do not. Mud is not easily shifted by waves and
currents, and when it dries out, cakes into a solid. By contrast, sand is easily shifted
by waves and currents, and when sand dries out it can be blown in the wind,
accumulating into shifting sand dunes. Beyond the high tide mark, if the beach is
low-lying, the wind can form rolling hills of sand dunes. Small dunes shift and
reshape under the influence of the wind while larger dunes stabilise the sand with
vegetation.[34]

Ocean processes grade loose sediments to particle sizes other than sand, such
as gravel or cobbles. Waves breaking on a beach can leave a berm, which is a
raised ridge of coarser pebbles or sand, at the high tide mark. Shingle beaches are
made of particles larger than sand, such as cobbles, or small stones. These beaches
make poor habitats. Little life survives because the stones are churned and pounded
together by waves and currents.[34]

Rocky shores
 Tidepools on rocky shores make
turbulent habitats for many forms of marine life
See also: Rocky shore and Tidal pool
The relative solidity of rocky shores seems to give them a permanence compared to
the shifting nature of sandy shores. This apparent stability is not real over even quite
short geological time scales, but it is real enough over the short life of an organism.
In contrast to sandy shores, plants and animals can anchor themselves to the rocks.
[37]

Competition can develop for the rocky spaces. For example, barnacles can compete
successfully on open intertidal rock faces to the point where the rock surface is
covered with them. Barnacles resist desiccation and grip well to exposed rock faces.
However, in the crevices of the same rocks, the inhabitants are different.
Here mussels can be the successful species, secured to the rock with their byssal
threads.[37]

Rocky and sandy coasts are vulnerable because humans find them attractive and
want to live near them. An increasing proportion of the humans live by the coast,
putting pressure on coastal habitats.[37]

Mudflats

Mudflats become temporary habitats

for migrating birds
See also: Bay mud
Mudflats are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers.
They are found in sheltered areas such as bays, bayous, lagoons, and estuaries.
Mudflats may be viewed geologically as exposed layers of bay mud, resulting from
deposition of estuarine silts, clays and marine animal detritus. Most of the sediment
within a mudflat is within the intertidal zone, and thus the flat is submerged and
exposed approximately twice daily.

Mangrove forests and salt marshes

Mangroves provide nurseries for fish

See also: Mangrove forest, Ecological values of mangroves, and Salt marsh
Mangrove swamps and salt marshes form important coastal habitats in tropical and
temperate areas respectively.

Mangroves are species of shrubs and medium size trees that grow in saline coastal
sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes 25° N and
25° S. The saline conditions tolerated by various species range from brackish water,
through pure seawater (30 to 40 ppt), to water concentrated by evaporation to over
twice the salinity of ocean seawater (up to 90 ppt).[38][39] There are many mangrove
species, not all closely related. The term "mangrove" is used generally to cover all of
these species, and it can be used narrowly to cover just mangrove trees of the
genus Rhizophora.

Mangroves form a distinct characteristic saline woodland or shrubland habitat, called

a mangrove swamp or mangrove forest.[40] Mangrove swamps are found
in depositional coastal environments, where fine sediments (often with high organic
content) collect in areas protected from high-energy wave action. Mangroves
dominate three quarters of tropical coastlines.[39]

Estuaries
 Estuaries occur when rivers flow into
a coastal bay or inlet. They are nutrient rich and have a transition zone which moves
from freshwater to saltwater.
Main article: Estuaries
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or
more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea.
[41]
Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and ocean
environments and are subject to both marine influences, such as tides, waves, and
the influx of saline water; and riverine influences, such as flows of fresh water and
sediment. The inflow of both seawater and freshwater provide high levels of nutrients
in both the water column and sediment, making estuaries among the most
productive natural habitats in the world.[42]

Most estuaries were formed by the flooding of river-eroded or glacially scoured

valleys when sea level began to rise about 10,000-12,000 years ago.[43] They are
amongst the most heavily populated areas throughout the world, with about 60% of
the world's population living along estuaries and the coast. As a result, estuaries are
suffering degradation by many factors, including sedimentation from soil erosion
from deforestation; overgrazing and other poor farming practices; overfishing;
drainage and filling of wetlands; eutrophication due to excessive nutrients from
sewage and animal wastes; pollutants including heavy metals, PCBs, radionuclides
and hydrocarbons from sewage inputs; and diking or damming for flood control or
water diversion.[43]

Estuaries provide habitats for a large number of organisms and support very high
productivity. Estuaries provide habitats for salmon and sea trout nurseries,[44] as well
as migratory bird populations.[45] Two of the main characteristics of estuarine life are
the variability in salinity and sedimentation. Many species
of fish and invertebrates have various methods to control or conform to the shifts in
salt concentrations and are termed osmoconformers and osmoregulators. Many
animals also burrow to avoid predation and to live in the more stable sedimental
environment. However, large numbers of bacteria are found within the sediment
which have a very high oxygen demand. This reduces the levels of oxygen within the
sediment often resulting in partially anoxic conditions, which can be further
exacerbated by limited water flux. Phytoplankton are key primary producers in
estuaries. They move with the water bodies and can be flushed in and out with
the tides. Their productivity is largely dependent on the turbidity of the water. The
main phytoplankton present are diatoms and dinoflagellates which are abundant in
the sediment.

Kelp forests
Further information: Kelp forest

Kelp forests provide habitat for many

marine organisms
Kelp forests are underwater areas with a high density of kelp. They form some of the
most productive and dynamic ecosystems on Earth.[46] Smaller areas of anchored
kelp are called kelp beds. Kelp forests occur worldwide
throughout temperate and polar coastal oceans.[46]

Kelp forests provide a unique three-dimensional habitat for marine organisms and
are a source for understanding many ecological processes. Over the last century,
they have been the focus of extensive research, particularly in trophic ecology, and
continue to provoke important ideas that are relevant beyond this unique ecosystem.
For example, kelp forests can influence coastal oceanographic patterns[47] and
provide many ecosystem services.[48]

However, humans have contributed to kelp forest degradation. Of particular concern

are the effects of overfishing nearshore ecosystems, which can
release herbivores from their normal population regulation and result in the over-
grazing of kelp and other algae.[49] This can rapidly result in transitions to barren
landscapes where relatively few species persist.[50]

Frequently considered an ecosystem engineer, kelp provides a physical substrate

and habitat for kelp forest communities.[51] In algae (Kingdom: Protista), the body of
an individual organism is known as a thallus rather than as a plant
(Kingdom: Plantae). The morphological structure of a kelp thallus is defined by three
basic structural units:[50]

 The holdfast is a root-like mass that anchors the thallus to the sea
floor, though unlike true roots it is not responsible for absorbing and
delivering nutrients to the rest of the thallus;
 The stipe is analogous to a plant stalk, extending vertically from the
holdfast and providing a support framework for other morphological
features;
 The fronds are leaf- or blade-like attachments extending from the
stipe, sometimes along its full length, and are the sites of nutrient
uptake and photosynthetic activity.
In addition, many kelp species have pneumatocysts, or gas-filled bladders,
usually located at the base of fronds near the stipe. These structures provide the
necessary buoyancy for kelp to maintain an upright position in the water column.

The environmental factors necessary for kelp to survive include hard substrate
(usually rock), high nutrients (e.g., nitrogen, phosphorus), and light (minimum
annual irradiance dose > 50 E m−2[52]). Especially productive kelp forests tend to
be associated with areas of significant oceanographic upwelling, a process that
delivers cool nutrient-rich water from depth to the ocean's mixed surface layer.
[52]
Water flow and turbulence facilitate nutrient assimilation across kelp fronds
throughout the water column.[53] Water clarity affects the depth to which sufficient
light can be transmitted. In ideal conditions, giant kelp (Macrocystis spp.) can
grow as much as 30-60 centimetres vertically per day. Some species such
as Nereocystis are annual while others like Eisenia are perennial, living for more
than 20 years.[54] In perennial kelp forests, maximum growth rates occur during
upwelling months (typically spring and summer) and die-backs correspond to
reduced nutrient availability, shorter photoperiods and increased storm
frequency.[50]

Seagrass meadows

Fan mussel in a
Mediterranean seagrass meadow
Main article: Seagrass meadows
Seagrasses are flowering plants from one of four plant families which grow in
marine environments. They are called seagrasses because the leaves are long
and narrow and are very often green, and because the plants often grow in large
meadows which look like grassland. Since seagrasses photosynthesize and are
submerged, they must grow submerged in the photic zone, where there is
enough sunlight. For this reason, most occur in shallow and sheltered coastal
waters anchored in sand or mud bottoms.

Seagrasses form extensive beds or meadows, which can be either monospecific

(made up of one species) or multispecific (where more than one species co-
exist). Seagrass beds make highly diverse and productive ecosystems. They are
home to phyla such as juvenile and adult fish, epiphytic and free-
living macroalgae and microalgae, mollusks, bristle worms, and nematodes. Few
species were originally considered to feed directly on seagrass leaves (partly
because of their low nutritional content), but scientific reviews and improved
working methods have shown that seagrass herbivory is a highly important link in
the food chain, with hundreds of species feeding on seagrasses worldwide,
including green turtles, dugongs, manatees, fish, geese, swans, sea
urchins and crabs.

Seagrasses are ecosystem engineers in the sense that they partly create their
own habitat. The leaves slow down water-currents increasing sedimentation, and
the seagrass roots and rhizomes stabilize the seabed. Their importance to
associated species is mainly due to provision of shelter (through their three-
dimensional structure in the water column), and due to their extraordinarily high
rate of primary production. As a result, seagrasses provide coastal zones
with ecosystem services, such as fishing
grounds, wave protection, oxygen production and protection against
coastal erosion. Seagrass meadows account for 15% of the ocean's total carbon
storage.[55]

Reefs
Main article: Reef

A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying
beneath the surface of a natural body of water.[56] Many reefs result from
natural, abiotic processes but there are also reefs such as the coral reefs of
tropical waters formed by biotic processes dominated by corals and coralline
algae. Artificial reefs such as shipwrecks and other anthropogenic underwater
structures may occur intentionally or as the result of an accident, and sometimes
have a designed role in enhancing the physical complexity of featureless sand
bottoms, thereby attracting a more diverse assemblage of organisms. Reefs are
often quite near to the surface, but not all definitions require this. [56] Fringing reefs,
the most common type of reef, are found close to shorelines and surrounding
islands.[57]

Rocky reefs

This section needs

expansion. You can help
by adding missing
information. (May 2025)

Rocky reefs are underwater outcrops of rock projecting above the adjacent
unconsolidated surface with varying relief. They can be found in depth ranges
from intertidal to deep water and provide a substrate for a large range of sessile
benthic organisms, and shelter for a large range of mobile organisms.[58]

Coral reefs
Main article: Coral reef
See also: Coral reef fish
Coral reefs comprise some of the densest and most diverse habitats in the world.
The best-known types of reefs are tropical coral reefs which exist in most tropical
waters; however, coral reefs can also exist in cold water. Reefs are built up
by corals and other calcium-depositing animals, usually on top of a rocky outcrop
on the ocean floor. Reefs can also grow on other surfaces, which has made it
possible to create artificial reefs. Coral reefs also support a huge community of
life, including the corals themselves, their symbiotic zooxanthellae, tropical fish
and many other organisms.

Much attention in marine biology is focused on coral reefs and the El

Niño weather phenomenon. In 1998, coral reefs experienced the most severe
mass bleaching events on record, when vast expanses of reefs across the world
died because sea surface temperatures rose well above normal.[59][60] Some reefs
are recovering, but scientists say that between 50% and 70% of the world's coral
reefs are now endangered and predict that global warming could exacerbate this
trend.[61][62][63][64]

Surface waters
 In the open ocean,
sunlit surface epipelagic waters get enough light for photosynthesis, but there are
often not enough nutrients. As a result, large areas contain little life apart from
migrating animals.[65]
See also: Ocean surface ecosystem
Surface microlayer
The surface microlayer of the ocean serves as the transitional area between the
atmosphere and the ocean. It covers around 70% of the Earth's surface as it
covers most of the ocean waters on the planet.[66] The microlayer is known for its
unique biological and chemical properties which give it a small ecosystem of its
own and serves as a distinct habitat from the deeper ocean waters.

The surface microlayer is not in fact entirely aqueous like the rest of the ocean,
but is closer to a kind of hydrated gel composed of concentrated nutrients
forming a biological film over the water it covers. This film is rich in microbes
which mediate the interactions between the sun, the atmosphere, and the waters
below.

Although thin, the surface microlayer is critical for life beneath it. Because of the
environment rich in microbes and nutrients, larvae of fish and other aquatic
animals are often laid in the microlayer to incubate. The plankton in the
microlayer are distinctly adapted to withstand high levels of radiation, and serve
as buffers to prevent this potentially harmful radiation from reaching the deeper
water. Environmental changes such as aerosols or dust storms can cause these
surface plankton to become overproductive, leading to blooms.[66]
 Halfbeak as larvae are one of the
organisms adapted to the unique properties of the microlayer
Because of the unique properties of the microlayer, pollutants often accumulate
within and use it to reach other parts of the ocean. Hydrophobic compounds,
such as petroleum, flame retardants, and heavy metals, have a particular affinity
for the surface microlayer. Recently, the abundance of aerosols
and microplastics has also had an impact on the SML and their accumulation has
led to many problems, such as animal ingestion of these compounds leading to
widespread disruption of balance and spread of these compounds among marine
communities.

The surface microlayer is also critical to gas exchange between the atmosphere
and the ocean. Because the microlayer is filled with microbes, it is widely
theorized that it plays a critical role in gas exchange and uptake of nutrients, but
relatively little data on this has been collected. The central feature of the
microlayer is the temperature, as it is an indicator of how pollutants and human
activity affects the ocean.[66]

Main article: Sea surface microlayer

Epipelagic zone
The surface waters are sunlit. The waters down to about 200 metres are said to
be in the epipelagic zone. Enough sunlight enters the epipelagic zone to
allow photosynthesis by phytoplankton. The epipelagic zone is usually low in
nutrients. This partially because the organic debris produced in the zone, such as
excrement and dead animals, sink to the depths and are lost to the upper zone.
Photosynthesis can happen only if both sunlight and nutrients are present.[65]

In some places, like at the edge of continental shelves, nutrients can upwell from
the ocean depth, or land runoff can be distributed by storms and ocean currents.
In these areas, given that both sunlight and nutrients are now present,
phytoplankton can rapidly establish itself, multiplying so fast that the water turns
green from the chlorophyll, resulting in an algal bloom. These nutrient rich
surface waters are among the most biologically productive in the world,
supporting billions of tonnes of biomass.[65]

"Phytoplankton are eaten by zooplankton - small animals which, like

phytoplankton, drift in the ocean currents. The most abundant zooplankton
species are copepods and krill: tiny crustaceans that are the most numerous
animals on Earth. Other types of zooplankton include jelly fish and the larvae of
fish, marine worms, starfish, and other marine organisms".[65] In turn, the
zooplankton are eaten by filter-feeding animals, including some seabirds,
small forage fish like herrings and sardines, whale sharks, manta rays, and the
largest animal in the world, the blue whale. Yet again, moving up the foodchain,
the small forage fish are in turn eaten by larger predators, such as tuna, marlin,
sharks, large squid, seabirds, dolphins, and toothed whales.[65]

Open ocean

Elevation
-area graph showing the proportion of land area at given heights and the
proportion of ocean area at given depths
See also: Pelagic fish
The open ocean is relatively unproductive because of a lack of nutrients, yet
because it is so vast, it has more overall primary production than any other
marine habitat. Only about 10 percent of marine species live in the open ocean.
But among them are the largest and fastest of all marine animals, as well as the
animals that dive the deepest and migrate the longest. In the depths lurk animal
that, to our eyes, appear hugely alien.[67]

Deep sea
Some representative ocean animal life (not drawn to scale) within their
approximate depth-defined ecological habitats. Marine microorganisms exist on
the surfaces and within the tissues and organs of the diverse life inhabiting the
ocean, across all ocean habitats.[68] Scale diagram
of the layers of the pelagic zone
See also: Deep sea and Deep sea communities
The deep sea starts at the aphotic zone, the point where sunlight loses most of
its energy in the water. Many life forms that live at these depths have the ability
to create their own light a unique evolution known as bio-luminescence.[citation needed]

In the deep ocean, the waters extend far below the epipelagic zone, and support
very different types of pelagic life forms adapted to living in these deeper zones.
[69]

Much of the aphotic zone's energy is supplied by the open ocean in the form
of detritus. In deep water, marine snow is a continuous shower of mostly organic
detritus falling from the upper layers of the water column. Its origin lies in
activities within the productive photic zone. Marine snow includes dead or
dying plankton, protists (diatoms), fecal matter, sand, soot and other inorganic
dust. The "snowflakes" grow over time and may reach several centimetres in
diameter, travelling for weeks before reaching the ocean floor. However, most
organic components of marine snow are consumed
by microbes, zooplankton and other filter-feeding animals within the first 1,000
metres of their journey, that is, within the epipelagic zone. In this way marine
snow may be considered the foundation of deep-
sea mesopelagic and benthic ecosystems: As sunlight cannot reach them, deep-
sea organisms rely heavily on marine snow as an energy source.[70]

Some deep-sea pelagic groups, such as the lanternfish, ridgehead, marine

hatchetfish, and lightfish families are sometimes termed pseudoceanic because,
rather than having an even distribution in open water, they occur in significantly
higher abundances around structural oases, notably seamounts and
over continental slopes. The phenomenon is explained by the likewise
abundance of prey species which are also attracted to the structures.[citation needed]

The fish in the different pelagic and deep water benthic zones are physically
structured, and behave in ways, that differ markedly from each other. Groups of
coexisting species within each zone all seem to operate in similar ways, such as
the small mesopelagic vertically migrating plankton-feeders, the
bathypelagic anglerfishes, and the deep water benthic rattails. "[71]

The umbrella mouth gulper eel

can swallow a fish much larger than itself
Ray finned species, with spiny fins, are rare among deep sea fishes, which
suggests that deep sea fish are ancient and so well adapted to their environment
that invasions by more modern fishes have been unsuccessful.[72] The few ray fins
that do exist are mainly in the Beryciformes and Lampriformes, which are also
ancient forms. Most deep sea pelagic fishes belong to their own orders,
suggesting a long evolution in deep sea environments. In contrast, deep water
benthic species, are in orders that include many related shallow water fishes.[73]

The umbrella mouth gulper is a deep sea eel with an enormous loosely hinged
mouth. It can open its mouth wide enough to swallow a fish much larger than
itself, and then expand its stomach to accommodate its catch.[74]

Sea floor
Part of a series related to
Benthic life

 Benthos
 Benthic zone
 Benthopelagic
 coupling
 Seabed

By size




By trophic type



By location




By habitat









 


Communities









Related







 Marine life portal

 v
 t
 e
See also: Benthic zone, benthos, and Marine sediment
Vents and seeps
Hydrothermal vents along the mid-ocean ridge spreading centers act as oases,
as do their opposites, cold seeps. Such places support unique marine
biomes and many new marine microorganisms and other lifeforms have been
discovered at these locations.

Trenches
The deepest recorded oceanic trenches measure to date is the Mariana Trench,
near the Philippines, in the Pacific Ocean at 10,924 m (35,838 ft). At such
depths, water pressure is extreme and there is no sunlight, but some life still
exists. A white flatfish, a shrimp and a jellyfish were seen by the American crew
of the bathyscaphe Trieste when it dove to the bottom in 1960.[75]

Seamounts
Marine life also flourishes around seamounts that rise from the depths, where
fish and other sea life congregate to spawn and feed.

Anthropogenic impacts
 Mudflat pollution
See also: Human impact on marine life
Mudflats are typically important regions for wildlife, supporting a large population,
although levels of biodiversity are not particularly high. They are of particular
importance to migratory birds as well as crabs, shrimp, and shellfish.[76] These
areas along the coast act as a nursery for these animals by providing an area for
reproduction and feeding. However, this can pose as an issue due to the high
trafficking of the birds migrating for nesting, then leaving to return to their
seasonal homes. Whatever pollutants the birds take in while breeding are
brought back with them to their next location, thus polluting that area as well. [77] In
the United Kingdom mudflats have been classified as a Biodiversity Action
Plan priority habitat. European countries such as France have also found it
beneficial to use the Marine Influence Index (MII) to be able to monitor the
responses to pollution the local plant and animal species may have as well as
monitor any type of deviation from the natural patterns displayed previously.[78]

Although many parts of the seafloor have yet to be explored, researchers have
found that parts of it have been greatly affected by human activity. Bottom
trawling, microplastic pollution, and industrial metals have slowly changed and
altered the composition of the sea floor. Bottom trawling refers to a commercial
deep sea fishing technique in which the equipment drags across the sea floor.
[79]
This has had an adverse effect on the seafloor as it changes the surface
structure and composition. In addition, microplastic pollution has become an
increasing problem to the seafloor as plastics and other debris are found in many
of the sediments.[80] Due to the build up of litter, the habitats and environments of
organisms on the seafloor are being impacted and changed. This includes
industrial facilities dumping new metals and minerals, such as cadmium, onto the
seafloor that change the chemical composition of the water and poison the
inhabitants.[81]
 The deep
sea amphipod Eurythenes plasticus, named after microplastics found in its body,
demonstrating plastic pollution affects marine habitats even 6000m below sea
level.


Microplastics found in sediments on the seafloor

640 μm microplastic found in the deep sea amphipod Eurythenes plasticus

There are also negative anthropogenic impacts on deep sea habitats, including
trash pollution and chemical pollution. Plastic pollution in particular, is one of the
greatest forms of uncontrolled human activity that is visible in our oceans today.
[82]
Researchers in the Northwestern south China Sea recorded large plastic-
dominated litter piles in submarine canyons.[82] These durable plastics can diffuse
into smaller organisms and are then inadvertently consumed by humans in the
food we eat and water we drink.[83] Another threat to organisms lurking in the deep
ocean is ghost fishing, and bycatch. Ghost fishing is the term that refers to any
abandoned fishing gear in the ocean that continues to entangle and trap marine
organisms. Gill nets for example, have been recorded tangled around deep sea
corals and continue ghost fishing for extended periods of time.[84]
Gallery


Deepsea mushroom corals growing on the chimney of an Explorer

Ridge hydrothermal vent

Deep sea crab found on hydrothermal vents in the Philippine Sea

Deep sea anemone on Blake Ridge

Submerged wrecks create artificial reef habitat


Versatile rockfish can be found living in almost any habitat from rocky
bottoms to sand and mud, and from vertical faces to horizontal plains.

Marine life within the kelp forest and rocky reef habitat

Monterey Bay, the largest marine sanctuary in the United States, is home to
the world's largest group of marine research institutions

The killer whale, apex predator of the ocean, cruises a huge range of
different marine habitats

Laysan albatross chick in a contemporary modified habitat, surrounded by

human marine debris
 

Zooarium chimney provides a habitat for vent biota

See also
 Marine life portal

 Oceans portal

 Effects of climate change on oceans

 Future of Marine Animal Populations
 Maritime forest
 Seashore wildlife
 Underwater habitat (underwater habitats for humans)
References
1. Abercrombie, M., Hickman, C.J. and Johnson, M.L. 1966.A Dictionary of
Biology. Penguin Reference Books, London
2. Living Ocean NASA Science. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
3. The World's Oceans and Seas. Archived 2006-02-24 at the Wayback
Machine Encarta. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
4. CIA Factbook: Pacific ocean. Archived 2008-08-13 at the Wayback
Machine
5. CIA Factbook: Atlantic ocean.
6. CIA Factbook: Indian ocean.
7. CIA Factbook: Southern ocean.
8. CIA Factbook: Arctic ocean.
9. Elert, Glenn Volume of Earth's Oceans. The Physics Factbook.
Retrieved 19 April 2008.
10. Where is Earth's water?, United States Geological Survey.
11. Eakins, B.W. and G.F. Sharman, Volumes of the World's Oceans from
ETOPO1, NOAA National Geophysical Data Center, Boulder, CO, 2010.
12. Water in Crisis: Chapter 2, Peter H. Gleick, Oxford University Press,
1993.
13. Planet "Earth": We Should Have Called It "Sea" Quote Invertigator, 25
January 2017.
14. Unveiling Planet Ocean Archived 8 October 2022 at the Wayback
Machine NASA Science, 14 March 2002.
15. Rona, Peter A. (2003). "Resources of the Sea
Floor". Science. 299 (5607): 673–674. doi:10.1126/science.1080679. P
MID 12560541. S2CID 129262186. Retrieved 4 February 2007.
16. Keeling, Ralph F.; Kortzinger, Arne; Gruber, Nicolas (2010). "Ocean
Deoxygenation in a Warming World" (PDF). Annual Review of Marine
 Science. 2: 199–229. Bibcode:2010ARMS....2..199K. doi:10.1146/annur
[Link].010908.163855. PMID 21141663. Archived from the
original (PDF) on 1 March 2016.
17. Ocean Habitats Archived 2011-05-23 at the Wayback Machine Marietta
College. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
18. Giovanni Coco, Z. Zhou, B. van Maanen, M. Olabarrieta, R. Tinoco, I.
Townend. Morphodynamics of tidal networks: Advances and challenges.
Marine Geology Journal. 1 December 2013.
19. Sandwell, D. T.; Smith, W. H. F. (7 July 2006). "Exploring the Ocean
Basins with Satellite Altimeter Data". NOAA/NGDC. Archived from the
original on 13 May 1997. Retrieved 21 April 2007.
20. Charette, Matthew A.; Smith, Walter H. F. (June 2010). "The Volume of
Earth's Ocean". Oceanography. 23 (2): 112–
114. Bibcode:2010Ocgpy..23b.112C. doi:10.5670/oceanog.2010.51. hd
l:1912/3862.
21. Calculated with GEBCO_2019 grid. (May 2020). "OER Depth
Comparison Maps EEZ" (PDF). NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and
Research. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
22. Ricklefs, Robert E.; Miller, Gary Leon (2000). Ecology (4th ed.).
Macmillan. p. 192. ISBN 978-0-7167-2829-0.
23. Spalding, Mark, Corinna Ravilious, and Edmund Green. 2001. World
Atlas of Coral Reefs. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press and
UNEP/WCMC.
24. Park, Chris C. (2001). The environment: principles and
applications (2nd ed.). Routledge. p. 564. ISBN 978-0-415-21770-5.
25. Davidson (2002), p.421.
26. Garrison T (2007) Oceanography: an invitation to marine
science Cengage Learning, Page 343. ISBN 978-0-495-11286-0
27. Easterbrook (1999).
28. Shepard FP (1937) Revised "Classification of Marine Shorelines" The
Journal of Geology, 45(6): 602–624.
29. Habitats: Beaches - Coasts Office of Naval Research. Retrieved 17 April
2011.
30. Continental shelf areas Archived 2008-12-02 at the Wayback
Machine Earth trends. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
31. World The World Factbook, CIA. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
32. Moyle and Cech, 2004, page 572
33. Hatcher, B.G. Johannes, R.E., and Robertson, A.J.
(1989). "Conservation of Shallow-water Marine
Ecosystems". Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review.
Vol. 27. Routledge. p. 320. ISBN 978-0-08-037718-6. Retrieved 21
November 2008.
34. Habitats: Beaches - Characteristics Office of Naval Research. Retrieved
17 April 2011.
35. Habitats: Beaches - Animal & Plant Life Office of Naval Research.
Retrieved 17 April 2011.
36. Wentworth CK (1922) "A scale of grade and class terms for clastic
sediments" J. Geology, 30: 377–392.
37. Tour of Rocky Shoreline Habitats Archived 2011-05-24 at the Wayback
Machine Marietta College. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
38. "Mangal (Mangrove). World Vegetation. Mildred E. Mathias Botanical
Garden, University of California at Los Angeles". Archived from the
original on 9 February 2012.
39. "Mangrove Morphology & Physiology". [Link]. Archived
from the original on 4 February 2012.
40. Hogarth, Peter J. (1999) The Biology of Mangroves Oxford University
Press, Oxford, England, What page? ISBN 0-19-850222-2
41. Pritchard, D. W. (1967) What is an estuary: physical viewpoint. p. 3–
5 in: G. H. Lauf (ed.) Estuaries, A.A.A.S. Publ. No. 83, Washington, D.C.
42. McLusky, D.S. and Elliott, M. (2004) "The Estuarine Ecosystem:
ecology, threats and management." New York: Oxford University Press
Inc. ISBN 0-19-852508-7
43. Wolanski, E. (2007) "Estuarine Ecohydrology." Amsterdam, the
Netherlands: Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-444-53066-0
44. Gillanders, Bronwyn M.; et al. (2003). "Evidence of connectivity between
juvenile and adult habitats for mobile marine fauna: an important
component of nurseries" (PDF). Marine Ecology Progress Series. 247:
281. Bibcode:2003MEPS..247..281G. doi:10.3354/meps247281.
45. Jennifer A. Gill, The buffer effect and large-scale population regulation in
migratory birds. 2001. Nature 412, 436-438
46. Mann, K.H. 1973. Seaweeds: their productivity and strategy for growth.
Science 182: 975-981.
47. Jackson, G.A. and C.D. Winant. 1983. Effect of a kelp forest on coastal
currents. Continental Shelf Report 2: 75-80.
48. Steneck, R.S., M.H. Graham, B.J. Bourque, D. Corbett, J.M. Erlandson,
J.A. Estes and M.J. Tegner. 2002. Kelp forest ecosystems: biodiversity,
stability, resilience and future. Environmental Conservation 29: 436-459.
49. Sala, E., C.F. Bourdouresque and M. Harmelin-Vivien. 1998. Fishing,
trophic cascades, and the structure of algal assemblages: evaluation of
an old but untested paradigm. Oikos 82: 425-439.
50. Dayton, P.K. 1985a. Ecology of kelp communities. Annual Review of
Ecology and Systematics 16: 215-245.
51. Jones, C.G., J. H. Lawton and M. Shachak. 1997. Positive and negative
effects of organisms as physical ecosystem engineers. Ecology 78: 1946-
1957.
52. Druehl, L.D. 1981. The distribution of Laminariales in the North Pacific
with reference to environmental influences. Proceedings of the
International Congress on Systematic Evolution and Biology 2: 248-256.
53. Wheeler, W.N. 1980. Effect of boundary layer transport on the fixation of
carbon by the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera. Marine Biology 56: 103-
110.
54. Steneck, R.S. and M.N. Dethier. 1994. A functional group approach to
the structure of algal-dominated communities. Oikos 69: 476-498.
55. Laffoley, Dan (26 December 2009). "To Save the Planet, Save the
Seas". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
56. "Resource Library: Encyclopedic Entry: Reef". [Link].
Washington, DC: National Geographic Society. 30 September 2011.
Archived from the original on 26 June 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
57. US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration. "How Do Coral Reefs Form: Corals
Tutorial". [Link]. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
58. Fisheries, NOAA (14 September 2022). "Rocky Reef on the West Coast
| NOAA Fisheries". NOAA. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
59. NOAA (1998) Record-breaking coral bleaching occurred in tropics this
year. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Press release
(October 23, 1998).
60. ICRS (1998) Statement on Global Coral Bleaching in 1997-1998.
International Coral Reef Society, October 15, 1998.
61. Bryant, D., Burke, L., McManus, J., et al. (1998) "Reefs at risk: a map-
based indicator of threats to the world's coral reefs". World Resources
Institute, Washington, D.C.
62. Goreau, T. J. (1992) "Bleaching and Reef Community Change in
Jamaica: 1951 - 1991". Am. Zool. 32: 683-695.
63. Sebens, K. P. (1994) "Biodiversity of Coral Reefs: What are We Losing
and Why?" Am. Zool., 34: 115-133
64. Wilkinson, C. R., and Buddemeier, R. W. (1994) "Global Climate Change
and Coral Reefs:Implications for People and Reefs". Report of the
UNEP-IOC-ASPEI-IUCN Global Task Team on the Implications of
Climate Change on Coral Reefs. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
65. Ocean ecology: sunlit surface waters WWF. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
66. Wurl, Oliver; Ekau, Werner; Landing, William M.; Zappa, Christopher J.
(21 June 2017). Deming, Jody W.; Bowman, Jeff (eds.). "Sea surface
microlayer in a changing ocean – A perspective". Elementa: Science of
the
Anthropocene. 5 31. Bibcode:2017EleSA...5...31W. doi:10.1525/elemen
ta.228. ISSN 2325-1026.
67. Blue Planet: Open ocean WWF. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
68. Apprill, A. (2017)"Marine animal microbiomes: toward understanding
host–microbiome interactions in a changing ocean". Frontiers in Marine
Science, 4: 222. doi:10.3389/fmars.2017.00222. Material was
copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0 International License.
69. Moyle and Cech, 2004, page 585
70. US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration. "What is marine snow?". [Link].
Retrieved 28 June 2022.
71. Moyle and Cech, 2004, p. 591
72. Haedrich RL (1996) "Deep-water fishes: evolution and adaptation in the
earth's largest living spaces" Journal of Fish Biology 49(sA):40-53.
73. Moyle and Cech, 2004, page 586
74. McCosker, John E. (1998). Paxton, J.R.W.N. (ed.). Encyclopedia of
Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-12-547665-2.
75. Seven Miles Down: The Story of The Bathyscaph
Trieste. Archived 2007-02-02 at the Wayback Machine, Rolex Deep Sea
Special, January 2006.
76. Walton, Mark E.; Le Vay, Lewis; Truong, Le Minh; Ut, Vu Ngoc
(2006). "Significance of mangrove–mudflat boundaries as nursery
grounds for the mud crab, Scylla paramamosain". Marine
Biology. 149 (5): 1199–1207. Bibcode:2006MarBi.149.1199W. do
i:10.1007/s00227-006-0267-7. ISSN 0025-3162. S2CID 84996718.
77. Pratte, Isabeau; Noble, David G.; Mallory, Mark L.; Braune, Birgit M.;
Provencher, Jennifer F. (2020). "The influence of migration patterns on
exposure to contaminants in Nearctic shorebirds: a historical
study". Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 192 (4):
256. Bibcode:2020EMnAs.192..256P. doi:10.1007/s10661-020-8218-1. I
SSN 0167-6369. PMID 32232588. S2CID 214704574.
78. Fouet, Marie P. A.; Singer, David; Coynel, Alexandra; Héliot, Swann;
Howa, Hélène; Lalande, Julie; Mouret, Aurélia; Schweizer, Magali;
 Tcherkez, Guillaume; Jorissen, Frans J. (2022). "Foraminiferal
Distribution in Two Estuarine Intertidal Mudflats of the French Atlantic
Coast: Testing the Marine Influence Index". Water. 14 (4):
645. Bibcode:2022Water..14..645F. doi:10.3390/w14040645. ISSN 207
3-4441.
79. Puig, P; Canals, M; Company, J.B.; Martín, J; Amblas, D; Lastras, G;
Palanques, A; Calafat, A (2012). "Ploughing the deep sea
floor". Nature. 489 (7415): 286–289. Bibcode:2012Natur.489..286P. do
i:10.1038/nature11410. hdl:2445/127886. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 2295
1970. S2CID 2840371. {{cite journal}}: |last3= has generic name
(help)
80. Madricardo, Fantina; Foglini, Federica; Campiani, Elisabetta; Grande,
Valentina; Catenacci, Elena; Petrizzo, Antonio; Kruss, Aleksandra; Toso,
Carlotta; Trincardi, Fabio (2019). "Assessing the human footprint on the
sea-floor of coastal systems: the case of the Venice Lagoon,
Italy". Scientific Reports. 9 (1):
6615. Bibcode:2019NatSR...9.6615M. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-43027-7.
ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 6488697. PMID 31036875.
81. Vallius, Henry (2012). "Arsenic and heavy metal distribution in the
bottom sediments of the Gulf of Finland through the last
decades". Baltica. Baltica, 25 (1), 23–32. 25 (1): 23–
32. Bibcode:2012Balti..25...23V. doi:10.5200/baltica.2012.25.02.
Archived from the original on 28 September 2020.
82. Zhong, Guangfa; Peng, Xiaotong (2021). "Transport and accumulation
of plastic litter in submarine canyons—The role of gravity
flows". Geology. 49 (5): 581–586. Bibcode:2021Geo....49..581Z. do
i:10.1130/G48536.1. ISSN 0091-7613. S2CID 234024346.
83. Kane, I.A.; Fildani, A. (2021). "Anthropogenic pollution in deep-marine
sedimentary systems—A geological perspective on the plastic
problem". Geology. 49 (5): 607–608. Bibcode:2021Geo....49..607K. do
i:10.1130/focus052021.1. ISSN 0091-7613. S2CID 234849315.
84. Matsuoka, Tatsuro; Nakashima, Toshiko; Nagasawa, Naoki (2005). "A
review of ghost fishing: scientific approaches to evaluation and
solutions". Fisheries Science. 71 (4): 691–
702. Bibcode:2005FisSc..71..691M. doi:10.1111/j.1444-
2906.2005.01019.x. ISSN 1444-2906. S2CID 6539536.
Sources

 Kritzer JP; Sale PF (2006). Marine metapopulations. Academic

Press. ISBN 978-0-12-088781-1.
 Moyle, PB and Cech, JJ (2004) Fishes, An Introduction to
Ichthyology. 5th Ed, Benjamin Cummings. ISBN 978-0-13-100847-2.
 Nybakken JW; Bertness MD (2005) Marine biology: an ecological
approach. Sixth edition. Pearson/Benjamin Cummings. ISBN 978-0-
8053-4582-7 – organized by habitat, not classification
 Pidwirny, Michael (2006). "Fundamentals of Physical Geography (2nd
Edition)". [Link]. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
External links
 Missouri Botanical Garden: Marine ecosystems
 Aquatic ecosystems









































































 





















































 




















































Fishery science topics






















































































 















 














































Marine pollution






Categories:
 Marine biology
 Habitats
 Aquatic ecology
 Biological oceanography
 Fisheries science
 Oceanographical terminology
 Oceanography
 This page was last edited on 8 June 2026, at 18:41 (UTC).
 Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License; additional terms
may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a
registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
 Privacy policy

 About Wikipedia

 Disclaimers

 Contact Wikipedia

 Legal & safety contacts

 Code of Conduct

 Developers

 Statistics

 Cookie statement

 Mobile view