Colleen McCracken
Mrs. Doll
Hon Biology
28 April 2017
Saltwater Biome “Dream big.” “Bigger is better.” One may have heard many phrases about “big” or “bigger.” But why not say “Dream saltwater biome.”? After all, the saltwater biome is the largest biome on Earth and covers roughly 70% of our planet (KDE Santa Barbara 1). A biome is a community of both flora and fauna in a large habitat (Postlethwait and Hopson). The saltwater biome is a community in a saltwater habitat. This group of similar ecosystems includes oceans, seas, saltwater lakes, and salt estuaries. It touches the edge of the continents and can even be surrounded by other biomes. The saltwater biome has five major oceans -Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Southern- and also …show more content…
This makes the north and south poles very cold and near freezing if not already frozen (“Climate and Weather” 1). As one may have assumed, seawater makes up most of the saltwater biome. On average, seawater’s salinity is about 3.5% (“Sea water” 1). Salinity has a very large impact on wildlife as organisms need a certain salinity level to survive. Some organisms cannot handle too much salinity, while others cannot live without it. If an organism is in the wrong level of salinity, “its reproduction can be deformed, making them produce mutated offspring” (“Flora and Fauna” …show more content…
The diversity lies not only in the living organisms, but in the parts and zones of the environment. There are three major zones of the ocean. The intertidal zone has organisms that are adapted to periodic exposure during low tide. The neritic zone supports “more species and numbers of organisms than any other zone.” Many other animals, including fishes and sea turtles, live in this zone. This also is the zone that contains coral reefs, which are one the most diverse ecosystems on Earth. The third zone is the oceanic zone. This zone does not contain as many species as the neritic zone because the nutrient levels cannot support the same amount of life as the levels are much lower (Postlethwait and Hopson
Mrs. Doll
Hon Biology
28 April 2017
Saltwater Biome “Dream big.” “Bigger is better.” One may have heard many phrases about “big” or “bigger.” But why not say “Dream saltwater biome.”? After all, the saltwater biome is the largest biome on Earth and covers roughly 70% of our planet (KDE Santa Barbara 1). A biome is a community of both flora and fauna in a large habitat (Postlethwait and Hopson). The saltwater biome is a community in a saltwater habitat. This group of similar ecosystems includes oceans, seas, saltwater lakes, and salt estuaries. It touches the edge of the continents and can even be surrounded by other biomes. The saltwater biome has five major oceans -Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Southern- and also …show more content…
This makes the north and south poles very cold and near freezing if not already frozen (“Climate and Weather” 1). As one may have assumed, seawater makes up most of the saltwater biome. On average, seawater’s salinity is about 3.5% (“Sea water” 1). Salinity has a very large impact on wildlife as organisms need a certain salinity level to survive. Some organisms cannot handle too much salinity, while others cannot live without it. If an organism is in the wrong level of salinity, “its reproduction can be deformed, making them produce mutated offspring” (“Flora and Fauna” …show more content…
The diversity lies not only in the living organisms, but in the parts and zones of the environment. There are three major zones of the ocean. The intertidal zone has organisms that are adapted to periodic exposure during low tide. The neritic zone supports “more species and numbers of organisms than any other zone.” Many other animals, including fishes and sea turtles, live in this zone. This also is the zone that contains coral reefs, which are one the most diverse ecosystems on Earth. The third zone is the oceanic zone. This zone does not contain as many species as the neritic zone because the nutrient levels cannot support the same amount of life as the levels are much lower (Postlethwait and Hopson