This document provides an overview of marine ecology, including basic concepts, marine habitats, lifestyles, and physical limiting factors. It describes the different zones in marine ecosystems like pelagic and benthic, and lifestyles like planktonic, nektonic, and benthic. It also examines various physical factors that limit marine life, such as light, temperature, salinity, nutrients, gases, depth/pressure, and geography. Finally, it discusses how human activities like pollution, development, and climate change are altering these limiting factors and affecting marine environments.

1. Marine Ecology:
Physical Limiting
Factors.
Aileen Aponte Zayas
September 16, 2015
CIAM-6117
Loretta Roberson , Ph. D.

2. Content:
 Basic concepts in marine ecology.
 Marine habitats.
 Marine lifestyles.
 Physical limiting factors.

3. Basic Concepts:
 Ecological community- It is a specific habitat
where different organisms interact.
 Marine ecology study the relationships or
interactions between marine organisms and
their environment.
 In general, it’s a study of marine organisms and
their population dynamics.

4. Marine habitats:
 Pelagic Zone:
 Neritic zone: nearshore, over the continental or insular
shelf.
 Oceanic zone: beyond the continental or insular shelf.
 Benthic zone: on the substrate.
 Littoral: “intertidal”.
 Sublittoral: out to the edge of continental or insular shelf.
 Bathyal: continental or insular slope.
 Abyssal: abyssal plain.
 Hadal: in deep sea trenches.

5. http://imgbuddy.com/ocean-life-zones-diagram.asp

6. Marine lifestyles:
 Planktonic: passive.
 Phytoplankton
 zooplankton
 Nektonic: active swimmers.
 Fishes.
 Marine mammals.
 Birds.
 Benthic: live on the subtrate.
 Epifaunal- live on the surface. Ex. Starfish, barnacles.
 Infaunal- live within the substrate. Ex. Sea worm.

7. Physical limiting factors:
 Light
 Temperature
 Salinity
 Dissolved Nutrients
 Gases
 Depth(Pressure)
 Geography

8. Light penetration:
 Light has more penetration in coastal and superficial
areas of the ocean.
 Also light penetrates better in clear water.
 Sedimentation causes an increase in turbidity, and
therefore decreases the penetration of light in photic
zones.
 Primary production is by photosynthesis process (upper
100-200 m), and turbidity affects this process.

10. Temperature:
 Temperature can affect the metabolism rate of an
organism.
 The rate of metabolism in an organism increases twice
every time the temperature rises 10° C in its body.
 The majority of marine organism are ectothermic.
Some are endothermic.
 Endotherms can tolerate a broader range of external
temperature than ectoderms. Endotherms need more
energy than ectothermic organisms.

11. Temperature affects organisms
activities:
http://www.asnailsodyssey.com/LEARNABOUT/SEASTAR/seasAcid.php

12. temperature
• Faster beat = more
efficient feeding
 Barnacle cirri beat faster at higher temperature,
increasing efficiency in feeding.
cirri
http://www.geo.arizona.edu/geo4xx/geos412/OcSci07.EcolIntro.pdf

13. Salinity:
 Normal: 35 g of salt in each 1000 g of seawater.
 Low salinity cause low diversity in estuaries.
 High salinity cause low diversity in areas of high
evaporation.
 Changes in salinity force the organisms to migrate
controlling their distribution.
 To maintain salt levels, organisms do different
processes: Diffusion, Osmosis and Active transport.

14.  Diffusion- high to low concentration.
 High salinity affects the organisms equalizing process.
 Osmosis- diffusion of water thought a membrane.
 Higher salinity cause dehydration or cell rupture.

15.  Active transport- active removal of substances from an
area of low concentration to high concentration.
 Fishes use active transport to control water
concentration in their cells.
 This allow to adapt to changes in salinity.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/biology/actran.html

16. Dissolved Nutrients:
 Nutrients are required for photosynthesis.
 There are limiting nutrients :
 Phosphates.
 Nitrates.
 Phosphates and Nitrates are low in photic zones and
high in upwelling areas.
 Fertilizers have nitrates and phosphates, and an excess
of them can cause uncontrolled growth of algae and
soon dead zones by hypoxia.

17. Oceanic dead zones around the world.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/media/inline/2008-08-15_bigMap.jpg

18. Gases:
 As atmospheric CO2 increase, the interaction with
ocean surface will change the chemistry of seawater
resulting in ocean acidification.
http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/file/carbon+chemistry++

19. http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/file/carbon+chemistry++

20. Depth (Pressure):
 We can find different communities of organisms in
depth with anatomical adaptations.
 In the deep sea are organisms that have gas bladders
that they can adjust to different pressures.
 Depth is related to the pressure, temperature and light.
 Deeper= more pressure, less light and low temperature.
 Global warming causes expansion. Shallower areas
may be more submerged affecting marine
communities.

21. photosynthesis
http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Water/temp.html

22. http://taxo4254.wikispaces.com/Avicennia+alba

23. Geography:
 Refers to the physical environment in which marine
communities develop.
 Each zone has its own characteristics according to the
geological processes that took place there.
 There are areas with different depths and nutrients that
influence the productivity and the organisms that live in
this area.
 The ocean has a variety of physical habitats.

24. http://www.ga.gov.au/ausgeonews/ausgeonews200706/marine.jsp

25. http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/invertebrates/elkhorncoral.htm

26. A Global Map of Human Impact on Marine Ecosystems

27. Discussion:
 Is the human being altering the limiting factors that the
marine ecology have? How?
 What human activities affect more the marine
ecosystems?
 Are we complying with the regulations to protect the
marine environment?
 Do we have efficient management plans to protect
marine ecosystems?
 Do we give more priority to terrestrial ecosystems than
marine ecosystems?
 Which zone or area of the marine ecosystem do you
think is the most affected?

28. References:
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