What is the main organism in the open ocean?

What is the main organism in the open ocean?

Most life in the open ocean is found in the photic zone. Animals, protists, plants, and bacteria that float or drift in ocean water are called plankton. They are moved around the open ocean by surface currents and wind. Phytoplankton are types of plankton that do photosynthesis like diatoms and other algae.

Why do plants live only in the top zone of the ocean?

From Sunlight to Darkness The top zone is the euphotic or sunlit zone. This is the ocean zone that sunlight penetrates. Because this zone gets sunlight, photosynthesis can occur and plants can grow here. Some sunlight reaches this zone, but not enough for photosynthesis to occur.

What kinds of organisms can you find in the open ocean?

At this depth and pressure, the animals most commonly found are fish, mollusks, crustaceans, and jellyfish. Sperm whales will hunt at these depths on occasion to prey on giant squid.

Which zone of the open ocean contains the most life and why?

epipelagic zone
Of the open ocean zones, most life is found in the epipelagic zone. This is where light is able to penetrate the ocean, allowing for photosynthetic processes to take place. It extends roughly 200m or 650 feet below the surface. This zone may also be known as the euphoric zone, the sunlight zone, or the photic zone.

Which ocean zone is the warmest?

The epipelagic zone tends to be the warmest layer of the ocean.

What animals live in middle of ocean?

True residents live their entire life in the open ocean. Only a few species are true residents, such as tuna, billfish, flying fish, sauries, pilotfish, remoras, dolphinfish, ocean sharks, and ocean sunfish.

What ocean zone do sharks live in?

Habitat. Deep sea sharks live below the photic zone of the ocean, primarily in an area known as the twilight zone between 200 and 1,000 meters deep, where light is too weak for photosynthesis. This extreme environment is limited in both sunlight and food.

What are the three organisms that live in the sea?

Marine invertebrates include sea slugs, sea anemones, starfish, octopi, clams, sponges, sea worms, crabs, and lobsters. Most of these animals are found close to the shore, but they can be found throughout the ocean. Fish are vertebrates; they have a backbone.

What ocean zone has the most life?

The epipelagic zone extends from the surface to 200m down. It receives plenty of sunlight and therefore contains the most biodiversity in the ocean.

What are the 3 zones of the ocean?

There are three main ocean zones based on distance from shore. They are the intertidal zone, neritic zone, and oceanic zone.