![]() ![]() Ask students to take turns reading the Internet web pages and leading the discussion in their small groups. Encourage groups to use information from the diagram and the provided Internet resources, or classroom and library resources. Have students research the animals of each zone and their adaptations.ĭistribute the worksheet and have students work in small groups to complete it. Students should realize that it gets colder and darker and pressure increases as one moves from the surface to the bottom of the ocean.ģ. Have students predict the different conditions that exist in each habitat.Īsk students to describe the differences in pressure, temperature, and light in the different layers of the ocean. Ask: Why is the ocean divided into different zones? Elicit from students that each zone has unique characteristics and animal and plant life.Ģ. The Abyssal zone’s average depth is 13,000 feet, but the deepest known point is around 36,000 feet deep. An abyssal zone, also known as an abyssopelagic zone, is the deep part of the ocean below 2000 m. ![]() Explain that the abyssopelagic, or abyssal benthic, zone is the region that includes the ocean floor. The zone is home to an astounding range of animals, including many deep-water corals, tube worms, crabs, sponges, sea squirts, and much more. Then point out to students that the top three zones together are called the pelagic zone, or open ocean. Point out the intertidal zone-in the epipelagic zone right above the continental shelf-and tell students it is the region along the shoreline covered by the sea at high tide but exposed to air at low tide. Cracks in the Earth’s crust called hydrothermal vents are found primarily in the abyssal. There are a variety of invertebrates and fishes found in this zone, but the abyssal zone does not have plants because of the lack of light. Point out to students that the deepest part of the ocean shown is 11,000 meters (36,100 feet), or approximately 11 kilometers (7 miles) deep. The abyssal zone (Figure 1) is very cold and has very high pressure, high oxygen content, and low nutrient content. Discuss the significance of the depths shown on this diagram. In the deep sea there is total darkness in the bathypelagic zone, however, the benthic organisms here have a few advantages over their pelagic counterparts. They live in very deep lakes (> 500 m) and most benthos species are blind. Rarely, there is a fourth group benthos live here, called Abyssal Benthos. In fact, effective food groups in the profound region are worms, filter feeders such as snails and midge flies. Go to the NOAA/National Weather Service’s Profile of the Ocean diagram. Generally, animals are missing here as there is no light in the profandal area. ![]()
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