The document discusses various adaptations that allow marine organisms to survive in the ocean environment. It notes that the ocean provides a more stable environment than land, but organisms are less able to withstand changes. It describes several physical adaptations for buoyancy control and movement through water, including streamlining, oil sacs, and different appendages depending on water temperature. Temperature variations are smaller in the ocean, and organisms have adapted to either narrow or wide temperature tolerances. Salinity tolerance adaptations are also discussed.

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Adaptations of Marine Organisms
 The marine environment
is more stable than land.
 Organisms in the ocean
are less able to withstand
environmental changes.

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Adaptations of Marine Organisms
 Physical support
 Buoyancy
 How to resist sinking
 Different support
structures in cold
(fewer) rather than
warm (more
appendages) seawater
 Smaller size

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Adaptations of Marine Organisms
 High surface area to
volume ratio
 Unusual appendages to
increase surface area
 Oil in micro-organisms
to increase buoyancy

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Viscosity and Streamlining Adaptations
 Streamlining
important for larger
organisms
 Less resistance to fluid
flow
 Flattened body
 Tapering back end

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Temperature and Marine Life
 Narrow range of temperature in oceans
 Smaller variations (daily, seasonally, annually)
 Deep ocean is nearly isothermal

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Ocean Temperature
 More stable than land for four reasons:
 Higher heat capacity of water
 Ocean warming reduced by evaporation
 Solar radiation penetrates deeply into ocean layers
 Ocean mixing

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Cold vs. Warm Water Species
 Smaller in cooler seawater
 More appendages in warmer seawater
 Tropical organisms grow faster, live shorter, reproduce
more often
 More species in warmer seawater
 More biomass in cooler seawater (upwelling)

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Temperature and Marine Organisms
 Stenothermal
 Organisms withstand small variation in temperature
 Typically live in open ocean
 Eurythermal
 Organisms withstand large variation in temperature
 Typically live in coastal waters

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Salinity and Marine Organisms
 Stenohaline
 Organisms withstand only small variation in salinity
 Typically live in open ocean
 Euryhaline
 Organisms withstand large variation in salinity
 Typically live in coastal waters, e.g., estuaries

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Marine vs. Freshwater Fish