What are some characteristics of the Epipelagic zone?
The Epipelagic zone is the uppermost layer of the ocean; it is located between the surface and 600 feet in depth. It is in this thin layer that all photosynthesis takes place. The epipelagic zone represents 2-3% of the entire ocean, beyond this, light is too dim for photosynthesis to occur.
What is a Epipelagic?
: of, relating to, or constituting the part of the oceanic zone into which enough light penetrates for photosynthesis.
What are the 3 ecosystems in the ocean?
Marine ecosystems are aquatic environments with high levels of dissolved salt. These include the open ocean, the deep-sea ocean, and coastal marine ecosystems, each of which have different physical and biological characteristics.
Why does the Epipelagic zone have the most biodiversity?
The epipelagic zone stretches from the surface down to 200 m and is home to the greatest biodiversity in the sea, largely because of the availability of sunlight that enables photosynthetic organisms to thrive. Bioluminescent organisms, some of the strangest marine creatures of the deep live here.
Do krill live in the Epipelagic zone?
Production in the epipelagic zone feeds the oceans, either by material falling from the surface layer or by deeper living species migrating to the epipelagic zone to feed. Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) is widely regarded as the most important species found in this zone.
What organisms are in the Epipelagic zone?
Generally speaking, this zone reaches from the sea surface down to approximately 200 m (650 feet). The epipelagic is home to all sorts of iconic animals, like whales and dolphins, billfishes, tunas, jellyfishes, sharks, and many other groups.
What is another name for Epipelagic?
The epipelagic zone is the water from the surface of the sea down to 200 metres. It is also referred to as the surface waters or the sunlit zone, and includes the photic zone.
What organisms live in the Epipelagic zone?
What is the temperature of the Epipelagic zone?
This zone is relatively warm because of heating from the sun and constant mixing by wind and currents. Temperatures can range from 34ºC near the equator to -2ºC near the North Pole. Since the epipelagic zone is well lit, it is home to photosynthetic organisms such as phytoplankton.
Why is the Epipelagic zone important?
Algae that live in the epipelagic zone are responsible for much of the original food production for the entire ocean and create at least 50% of the oxygen in the atmosphere (both through photosynthesis). Organisms that live in the epipelagic zone may come into contact with the sea surface.
What kind of organisms live in the epipelagic zone?
Epipelagic (sunlight) Nearly all primary production in the ocean occurs here. Consequently, plants and animals are largely concentrated in this zone. Examples of organisms living in this zone are plankton, floating seaweed, jellyfish, tuna, many sharks and dolphins .
How does the pelagic zone affect the ecosystem?
Pelagic ecosystem. Biodiversity diminishes markedly in the deeper zones below the epipelagic zone as dissolved oxygen diminishes, water pressure increases, temperatures become colder, food sources become scarce, and light diminishes and finally disappears.
Which is larger open ocean or epipelagic Ocean?
Open Ocean. The mesopelagic zone is much larger than the epipelagic, and the most numerous vertebrates on Earth (small bristlemouth fishes) live in this zone. Many of the species of fishes and invertebrates that live here migrate up into shallower, epipelagic depths to feed, but only under the cover of night.
Is the pelagic zone the same as the benthic zone?
The pelagic zone can be contrasted with the benthic and demersal zones at the bottom of the sea. The benthic zone is the ecological region at the very bottom of the sea.