So what actually goes on underwater... Are there plants...?
Well yes, there are plants in the ocean biome, but there's a bit of a twist.
Here's a few examples of plant life in each of the zones:
The intertidal zone:
-- a diverse range of algae and seaweed The pelagic zone:
-- seaweed
-- phytoplankton
-- dinoflagellates (microscopic algae that have flagella to allow the to move)
-- kelp beds
The benthic zone:
-- green algae, red algae, and brown algae
-- This algae includes: eelgrass, sea lettuce, and sponge-weed
-- This algae includes Irish moss, dulse, and false Irish moss
-- This algae includes bladderwrack, Norwegian kelp, and giant kelp
-- This also includes Potamogetonaceae. Say what?
-- No worries, that's just a fancy word for saying plants such as horned pondweed, fennel pondweed, and potomogeton.
-- Potomogeton is an algae that can produce flowers and fruit.
The abyssal zone:
-- Wait a minute... This zone receives basically no sunlight, so how could plants survive? They can't.
-- This zone does contain, however, hydrothermal vents. Many species thrive around these vents.
(More about that on the animal page)
Plant Adaptations:
-- Most plants that live in the ocean have to develop air sacks to lift the part of them that absorbs sunlight to the surface. Because plants are underwater there access to sunlight is smaller than in other biomes. Since photosynthesis is necessary for a plant to survive adaptation is key for survival.
Example: Sargasso seaweed is sometimes called a "sea grape" because you can see the air sacks that it contains.
-- To adapt, ocean plants have a root structure that is called a "keepfast". This structure allows the plants to stay in place against the currents.
-- Another important adaptation is the adaptation to salinity. All ocean plants must deal with this. Some adaptations include storing the salt and breaking it down into chlorine and sodium ions.
I thought there was a catch?
There sure is...
The catch is that algae is often considered a plant, but is often considered neither a plant or animal, but a protist, from the kingdom Protista. Some argue that algae does not have true tissue, but we'll leave that issue up to the debaters of the world.
Here's a few examples of plant life in each of the zones:
The intertidal zone:
-- a diverse range of algae and seaweed The pelagic zone:
-- seaweed
-- phytoplankton
-- dinoflagellates (microscopic algae that have flagella to allow the to move)
-- kelp beds
The benthic zone:
-- green algae, red algae, and brown algae
-- This algae includes: eelgrass, sea lettuce, and sponge-weed
-- This algae includes Irish moss, dulse, and false Irish moss
-- This algae includes bladderwrack, Norwegian kelp, and giant kelp
-- This also includes Potamogetonaceae. Say what?
-- No worries, that's just a fancy word for saying plants such as horned pondweed, fennel pondweed, and potomogeton.
-- Potomogeton is an algae that can produce flowers and fruit.
The abyssal zone:
-- Wait a minute... This zone receives basically no sunlight, so how could plants survive? They can't.
-- This zone does contain, however, hydrothermal vents. Many species thrive around these vents.
(More about that on the animal page)
Plant Adaptations:
-- Most plants that live in the ocean have to develop air sacks to lift the part of them that absorbs sunlight to the surface. Because plants are underwater there access to sunlight is smaller than in other biomes. Since photosynthesis is necessary for a plant to survive adaptation is key for survival.
Example: Sargasso seaweed is sometimes called a "sea grape" because you can see the air sacks that it contains.
-- To adapt, ocean plants have a root structure that is called a "keepfast". This structure allows the plants to stay in place against the currents.
-- Another important adaptation is the adaptation to salinity. All ocean plants must deal with this. Some adaptations include storing the salt and breaking it down into chlorine and sodium ions.
I thought there was a catch?
There sure is...
The catch is that algae is often considered a plant, but is often considered neither a plant or animal, but a protist, from the kingdom Protista. Some argue that algae does not have true tissue, but we'll leave that issue up to the debaters of the world.