Introducing
Your new presentation assistant.
Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.
Trending searches
Credits
Sea life
Facts
Factors
The Epipelagic Zone lies in the Euphotic layer of the ocean. This layer of the ocean receives the most sunlight because it is the layer closest to the surface. The Epipelagic Zone is located on the Continetal Shelf between 200 metres and to the surface of the water. It is the warmest layer.
Ocean layers
Abiotic means non-living. Two of the abiotic factors in the Epipelagic Zone are light, which feed most if not all the plankton that lie closest to the surface and salinity. Salinity is the salt amount in a body of water, in certain areas it can be really salty or can have up to no salt. The salinity can provide nutrients for some of the marine life in that specific ecosystem.
The epipelagic zone reaches from the surface of the ocean down to around 650 feet. This is the zone most exposed to light, and as such is host to the highest concentrations of the ocean's life. There are thousands of animals that roam this zone, including dolphins, most sharks, jellyfish, tuna and corals. Seaweed is a common plant in the epipelagic zone, along with various algae and phytoplankton.
The cerebral-looking organisms known as brain corals do not have brains, but they can grow six feet tall and live for up to 900 years! Found in the Caribbean, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans, brain corals display what is known as Meandroid tissue integration. This means that the polyps, which are the basic living unit of corals, are highly associated to one another.
Phytoplankton, also known as micro algae, are similar to terrestrial plants in that they contain chlorophyll and require sunlight in order to live and grow. Most phytoplankton are buoyant and float in the upper part of the ocean, where sunlight penetrates the water. Phytoplankton also require inorganic nutrients such as nitrates, phosphates, and sulfur which they convert into proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
The Portuguese man o’ war, (Physalia physalis) is often called a jellyfish, but is actually a species of siphonophore, a group of animals that are closely related to jellyfish. A siphonophore is unusual in that it is comprised of a colony of specialized, genetically identical individuals called zooids — clones — with various forms and functions, all working together as one. Each of the four specialized parts of a man o’ war is responsible for a specific task, such as floating, capturing prey, feeding, and reproduction