MAST200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Pelagic Zone, Mesopelagic Zone, Gelatinous Zooplankton
7 Dec 2016
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Document Summary
Ecology is the study of the inter-relationships between the physical and biological aspects of the environment. It is the study of how organisms adapt to and alter their environment. Light: 100% to <1% at 100 m. Latitude has a strong effect on temperature, salinity, insolation. Important to marine organisms whose body temperatures are near the temperature of the water. Other marine organisms maintain own internal body temperature. Can be divided based on depth (vertical) and into zones based on distance from land (horizontal) Two major realms: pelagic (water column) and benthic (bottom) Pelagic is divided into the neritic (lies over continental shelf) and oceanic (beyond shelf) zone, more specifically: Populations of different species interacting with one another in a shared environment form a community. An ecosystem is a distinct physical entity with unique abiotic conditions that is home to a community of interacting species. Some marine ecosystems are coral reefs, beaches, intertidal zones.
