Types of Ocean Organisms

There is a great variety of ocean life that ranges from the smallest animals on Earth to the
largest. Some of these organisms breathe air from the atmosphere, while others can
extract oxygen from the water. There are those that mostly float on the surface and those
found in the ocean's depths. Some animals eat other organisms, while other creatures
generate food from sunlight. The abundance of life in the oceans can seem endless.
However pollution, acidification of the oceans, and overfishing can greatly reduce the
diversity and abundance of ocean life. By studying and understanding the creatures of the
ocean, humans can better preserve these organisms. With this in mind, we'll learn about
the life forms in the ocean by dividing them into seven basic groups.
Plankton
Plankton are perhaps the most important part of the food chain because they supply food
for most aquatic life.
The most abundant life forms in the ocean are plankton; most are so small that you can't
even see them. These include many types of algae, copepods, and jellyfish. Because
exploring the oceans is much harder than studying the land, many marine organisms
haven't been extensively studied by humans. Scientists believe many species of marine
organisms haven't even been discovered yet. The plankton are one group of organisms
that have been studied extensively. The word "plankton", which comes from the Greek
for wanderer, describes how these organisms live. All plankton float freely or drift,
wandering at the ocean's surface.
Plants and Algae
There are only a few true plants in the oceans; these include salt marsh grasses and
mangrove trees. But large algae, or seaweed, also use photosynthesis to make food, just
as plants do on land. These organisms have to live in the photic zone, because they
require sunlight for photosynthesis. For that reason, most plants, seaweeds and algae in
the ocean are found near the ocean surface or close to the shore. The large algae kelp
grows in the neritic zone. Kelp tends to grow in forests, and can reach over 50 meters
long. Kelp forests sustain an abundance of life, like the otter that lives in their swaying
stems. It is thought that land plants adapted from ocean organisms some 500 million
years ago.

Marine Invertebrates
The ocean includes a great variety of animals. One major group of animals is the
invertebrates. Invertebrates are animals with no spinal column. 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. In fact, scientists were amazed to discover invertebrates that
thrived in the deep ocean near hydrothermal (hot water) vents, including giant tube
worms, crabs, and shrimps
Fish
Like us, fish are vertebrates that have a spinal column and a hard skull. They are animals
that have adapted to life in the water. Most fish are "cold-blooded" animals that have fins
with which to move and steer, scales that protect them, gills with which to extract oxygen
from the water, and a swim bladder that lets them float at particular depths within the
ocean. Included among the fish are sardines, salmon, and eels, as well as the sharks and
rays.
Reptiles
Reptiles are air-breathing, "cold-blooded" vertebrates. A few groups of reptiles have
adapted to life at sea. These include sea turtles, sea snakes, a few saltwater crocodiles,
and the marine iguana, which is found only at the Galapagos Islands Most sea snakes
bear live young in the ocean and do not need to come on land to breed. But turtles,
crocodiles, and marine iguanas all lay their eggs on land, which makes both eggs and
adults vulnerable to predation. For example, people use sea turtles or their eggs for food,
for their shells, and for the medicinal purposes that some cultures believe they possess.
Sea turtles are endangered species, so they are protected in many countries around the
world.
Seabirds

Many penguins live in and around Antarctica, but some penguins live farther north on
islands such as the Galapagos Islands (near the Equator). The Southern Rockhopper
Penguin lives in the Falkland Islands off the coast of Argentina, a long way from the ice.
Everybody loves penguins, a type of bird adapted to the sea (Figure 14.32). They do not
fly; rather they are adapted to swimming and may spend half of their time at sea looking
for food. There are many other kinds of seabirds, though, like gulls, gannets, pelicans,
and petrels. Seabirds are adapted to catching fish by diving or by grabbing them at the
surface with their claws.
Marine Mammals
Mammals are warm-blooded vertebrates that feed their young with milk. Most mammals
have hair, ears, a jaw bone with teeth, and give birth to developed young. There are five
types of marine mammals. The first type is termed Cetaceans which include whales,
dolphins, and porpoises. The second type is called Sirenians which include the manatee
and the dugong. Seals, sea lions, and walruses comprise the Pinniped group. Sea otters
are the ocean members of the fourth group, the Mustelids, which also includes skunks,
badgers and weasels. The final type of ocean marine mammal is the polar bear, which
depends heavily on the ocean for survival and is adapted to a life around the sea.
The sea otter is an marine mammal that depends on the ocean for survival.
Interactions Among Ocean Organisms
To best understand how ocean organisms interact, it is necessary to consider the
particular environments in which they live. There are four main ocean habitats: the
intertidal zone and shore, reefs, the open ocean, and the deep sea including trenches.
Most organisms have some adaptations specific to their preferred habitat.
A great abundance of life can be found in the intertidal zone. Many intertidal animals can
live in or out of the water; some spend one part of their lives in the water and another out
of the water. They must be adapted to frequent shifting of water levels and wave impacts.
In response, many have hard shells and strong attachments that keep them safe. Some
animals, like marine mussels, cling steadily to a rock for their entire lives. Many young

organisms get their start in estuaries, which are special ecosystems affected by the tides,
where freshwater and salt water come together.
Marine mussels live in the intertidal zone. How are they adapted for life in the intertidal
zone?
Reefs are built up by corals and other animals that deposit the mineral calcium carbonate
to make rock formations near the shore. They support a complex ecosystem of ocean
organisms that live within the coral reef. These diverse organisms have complex
interactions with one another; some species help each other to survive. When reefs are
destroyed or polluted, certain species can be affected more than others. Harm to one
species may have a domino effect on other species. This may cause the entire ecosystem
to collapse. Coral reefs are particularly sensitive to certain threats like temperature
change and oil spills.
The open ocean refers to the large open expanses of ocean water. This vast area is the
primary habitat for relatively few animals. Most of the food in the ocean is found nearer
to shore, so most of these animals are just passing through. Some larger animals like
whales and giant groupers may live their entire lives in the open water.
As you know, scientists were surprised to find life in ocean trenches, the deepest parts of
the ocean. How can animals survive at that depth? They have adapted to the resources
available there, and some bacteria can even use inorganic compounds as energy sources
instead of relying on the sun as a source of energy. This is called chemosynthesis.
Shrimp, clams, fish, and giant tube worms have been found in these extreme places.
Still other animals can live on floating rafts of algae or in frozen places, like the North
and South Poles. No matter where you might look in the grand ocean, some creature has
found a way to live there. Almost all of these creatures depend on each other. Certainly
all creatures depend on producers that convert sunlight into biomass. Our oceans are
currently threatened by global warming, overuse and pollution. These imbalances in the
ecosystems may someday devastate the delicate web of life on which humans depend.