WHAT ARE MARINE BIOMES Marine biomes cover about three-quarters of Earth’s surface They include open ocean water the world’s coastlines and seashores colorful coral reefs the mysterious hidden world of the deep dark oceans and the seabed Ocean challenges Marine biomes are challenging places for plants and animals to live The salt in seawater would dry out and kill most living things if they drank a lot of it Winds across the water’s surface whip up high waves that can be rough and powerful In places oceans reach incredible depths and the deeper it gets the darker and colder it becomes Marine biomes are home to many different animals such as these bottlenose dolphins surfing high waves in waters off South Africa 4 Amazing Adaptation Adaptations are special features or body parts that living things develop over time to help them survive in a biome Sea lions and dolphins have strong paddle-like flippers to help them swim and a long narrow body shape to cut through waves
Ocean survival In spite of these challenges the marine biome is full of life Plankton consists of tiny plants and animals so small they cannot be seen without a microscope but there can be over a million plankton in just a quart liter of seawater In contrast some types of seaweed can be up to 100 feet 30 m long There is a huge variety of marine animals Some such as fish live breathe feed and have their young in the ocean without ever leaving the water Others including the millions of sea birds that fly over the water searching for fish only visit the ocean biome to catch food Some animals such as sea lions live mainly in seawater but come to the surface to breathe or go ashore to rest and have their young Fact Focus Biome or Habitat Biomes are regions of the world such as deserts forests rivers oceans tundra and grassland that have a similar climate plants and animals A habitat is the specific place in a biome where a plant or animal lives 5
MARINE BIOMES OF THE WORLD There are five oceans in the world They are all connected and water flows between them Within these marine biomes there are also seas which are smaller areas of an ocean that are usually partly surrounded by land The Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean covers the area around the North Pole This ocean is the smallest in the world It is so cold that its center is permanently covered with ice 10 feet 3 m thick In summer the edges of the ocean melt The Southern Ocean The Southern or Antarctic Ocean surrounds the continent of Antarctica In winter the water around the edges of Antarctica freezes In summer it melts again It includes several seas such as the huge Weddell Sea Adelie penguins dive off Antarctic ice into the Southern Ocean to catch food such as shrimp-like krill See page 22 The oceans are mostly separated by the seven continents except for the Southern Ocean which runs into other oceans Arctic Ocean Europe Africa North America Atlantic Ocean Paci(cid:31)c Ocean South America Asia Indian Ocean Paci(cid:31)c Ocean Australia 6 Southern Ocean Antarctica
The Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the warmest on Earth because a large part of it lies in the tropics Some of the Indian Ocean’s surface water is as hot as a warm bath The Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest ocean on Earth It is warmer near the equator and colder in the far north and south The Atlantic includes seas such as the North Sea and the Caribbean Sea The Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the five oceans Where it meets the Southern Ocean its waters are freezing cold but near the equator its waters are much warmer Amazing Adaptation The hammerhead shark’s eyes are at the ends of its hammer-shaped head so it can see all around when looking for prey Hammerhead sharks live in the Pacific Atlantic and the Indian oceans 7
