Marine Biome Facts

Oceans always have been the encrypted codes of mystery to man. Marine biome which comprises of five great oceans and other bays and gulf, covers about three fourth of the earth. This makes it one of the largest biomes on earth. The term ‘biome’ was coined by a great environmentalist, Dr. Dietrich Malinger in 1967. Malinger considered them as ecological districts that have distinct climate topography. Biome is defined as “the world's major communities, classified according to the predominant vegetation and characterized by adaptations of organisms to that particular environment”. Marine biome is the largest habitat on the planet because 80 percentages of earth’s habitats belong to it. The Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, Antarctic Ocean, and Indian Ocean are the major part of the marine biome. Marine biome is divided as oceans, coral reefs and estuaries. Mariana trench is the deepest point in marine biome, which is deeper than the height of Mount Everest. Read on the article to know more about marine biome.

Interesting Information On Marine Biomes

Oceans

Oceans are the largest of all the eco system. The regions of oceans are divided into four zones. Intertidal, pelagic, abyssal, and benthic are that four zones. Each of the zones has great diversity of species.

The Intertidal Zone

The zone where ocean meets the land is called the intertidal zone. This zone has a fluctuating nature because of the rise and fall of the tides.
This nature leads the constant change in the communities of species.
Rocky coastal areas have fewer species because only high tides can reach the top of the steep rocks. A few species of algae and mollusks may be found on areas where the highest of tides reach.

The Pelagic Zone

This zone is located in the open ocean.
There is thermal stratification with constant mixing of warm and cold currents.
Pelagic zone is cold though it is a bit difficult to determine a general temperature range for it.
This zone is native to various species of fishes and marine mammals, some types of floating seaweed, and plankton.

The Benthic Zone

This zone is the area below the pelagic zone,
This consists of sand, decomposing organisms and silt.
It is cold since sunlight never reaches to this depth zone
You can find many micro organisms than marine animals in this zone
Seaweed represents the flora of this zone while the fauna include all sorts of bacteria, fungi, sponges, sea anemones, worms, sea stars, and fishes.

Abyssal Zone

The deep ocean is the abyssal zone. Hope you didn’t forget the James Cameroon’s miraculous film ‘The abyss”.
The water in this zone is very cold, high in oxygen content, but low in nutritional content and highly pressurized. The abyssal zone has many species of fishes and invertebrates.

Coral Reefs

Coral reefs are aragonite structures produced by living organisms, found in marine waters.
They are widely distributed in warm shallow waters.
They can be found as barriers along continents. Great Barrier Reef of Australia is the best example.
In this zone, the fauna consist of several species of invertebrates, fishes, sea urchins, microorganisms, octopuses, and sea stars.

Estuaries

The zone where fresh water stream or rivers merge with ocean is called Estuaries.
Algae, seaweeds, marsh grasses, and mangroves are the marine biome plants and animals of the estuaries.
The very different salt concentration of the mixing waters provides a very interesting eco system for this zone.
It has a diverse fauna, which consists of oyster, waterfowl, crabs, and worms.

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