Marine Life

NOTE: Page references cited are for the book OCEAN: The World's Last Wilderness Revealed,
published by the American Museum of Natural History. This is an excellent reference volume, and it is
available for less than $20 from many online sources.
Approximately 25% of all known living plant and animal species live in the ocean.1
Most of them live in the photic zone of the ocean surface.
20% of all animal species live in the ocean; more than 90% of those are benthic.
4% of all plant species live in the ocean; nearly all are planktonic algae.
Autotrophs: organisms that convert inorganic material into food by photosynthesis, or chemosynthesis.
Heterotrophs: organisms that cannot convert inorganic material into food, and must consume
autotrophs, other heterotrophs, or organic debris for food.
Saprotrophs: organisms that consume decomposing organic matter, sometimes called "bottom feeders".
Prokaryote: single-cell organism that lacks a nucleus or other membrane-bound organelles.
Eukaryote: organism with cells that have a nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles.

Classification of Living Organisms Note: The classification of living organisms has been in a
state of transition for the past 150 years. As our understanding of molecular and evolutionary biology
increases, new classifications are devised. The acceptance of new classification schemes by all in the
biological community is not automatic and may take years of research. The classification presented
here is most common in current biology textbooks.
Domains based on rRNA (Woese,1977); genomes; Bacteria (single-cell prokaryotes),
Archaea (similar to bacteria, often found in extreme environments), and Eukaryotes.
Kingdoms based mainly on differences in nutrition (autotrophs, heterotrophs, saprotrophs)
5-Kingdom System: Animalia; Plantae; Fungi (similar to plants, but saprotrophic);
Protista (colonial single-celled eukaryotes, and multicellular autotrophs and heterotrophs) ;
Bacteria (prokaryotic bacteria; subkingdoms of Archaea and Eubacteria)
Phylums groupings of animals based on body plan, as well as developmental, internal organizations.
Best known marine phyla include Mollusca, Porifera, Cnidaria, Arthropoda, Echinodermata, and
Chordata. The plant kingdom uses Division instead of Phylum.
Classes the next level of the taxonomy hierarchy is based on body forms and functions such as
reproductive strategies common to a group of otherwise unrelated animals. Examples of common
marine Classes are Mammalia; Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fishes), and Osteichthyes (bony fishes).
Orders groups of animals based on some common characteristic such as body shape, mode of
movement, food source, etc. Marine examples include Carnivora (meat-eating), Cetacea (air-breathing
whales and dolphins with horizontal flukes for propulsion). All tuna belong to Order Perciformes
(perch-like fishes). You are of the Order Primates.
Families Genera are grouped into families, which are major groups of generally similar organisms.
A marine example is Delphinidae (dolphins) which is a family in the Order Cetacea. Your family is
Hominidae, which includes humans and other great apes.
Genera groups of species that are closely related, but not interbreeding. Your Genus Homo (includes
ancestors going back 2.5 my); A common marine Genus is Tursiops (bottlenose dolphins).
Species this is the fundamental unit of taxonomy. Members of a species have the potential of
interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. Your Genus species is Homo sapiens (which only goes
back about 130,000 years). The Tursiops Genus of dolphins includes Tursiops truncatus (common
bottlenose dolphin).
"Keep pond clean or fish get sick"
1. Census of Marine Life

Marine Organisms

F. Hafer

2012

Classification of Marine Organisms according to Habitat:

PLANKTON: Floating organisms; usually no self-locomotion; wander with the currents; have high
surface area to volume ratios; maintain vertical position in the water column.
(Photosynthesizing plankton produce as much oxygen as all the earths forests.)
PHYTOPLANKTON: plants including diatoms, coccoliths, and sargassum
ZOOPLANKTON: animals including foraminiferans, copepods, and jellyfish
BACTERIOPLANKTON: free-floating bacteria
Plankton according to SIZE:
Macroplankton (large) or Picoplankton (microscopic)
Plankton according to LIFESTYLE:
Holoplankton (stay planktonic entire life)
Meroplankton (planktonic for part of life time, usually larval stage; includes all fishes;
following the planktonic stage, organism becomes nektonic or benthic)
NEKTON: Swimmers, mover under their own power horizontally and vertically; includes fish, squid,
marine mammals and reptiles, and us when we swim in the ocean.
Horizontal movement (habitat area) limited by salinity, temperature, and food source
Vertical movement (habitat area) limited by salinity, temperature, food source, and pressure
BENTHIC: Living at the bottom of the ocean, either neritic or oceanic.
EPIFAUNA: Live on or near the ocean floor
INFAUNA: Live in or burrow into the ocean floor
Some species photosynthesize and must live only on shallow floors (<20m depth)
HYDROTHERMAL VENT communities: chemosynthetic species; "extremophiles"
QUESTIONS:
How do photosynthesizing plankton stay in the euphotic layer of the ocean surface?
The number of warm water plankton species is far higher than that of cold water. However, the
biomass of cold water plankton is far higher than that of warm water. Why this difference?
Are Cnidarians (p.262) planktonic? If so, are they macro or pico? And are they holo or mero?
Cnidarians are of what phylum?
Why are more than 90% of all marine animal species benthic (bottom-dwelling)?
Clams and oysters are of what phylum and class?
What is the largest animal phylum? What is the second largest phylum, most of which are marine?
Define the terms hypertonic, hypotonic, and isotonic.
Important readings in OCEAN: pp.161-166; open ocean, pp.167-201; ocean life: pp.205-229

Marine Organisms

F. Hafer

2012

Important Marine Phyla with references to the book OCEAN: The World's Last Wilderness Revealed
Domain Bacteria: single-celled prokaryotes, no nucleus, single chromosome, high metabolic diversity
Many phyla in the oceans.
Domain Archaea: superficially like bacteria, chemosynthetic, often live in extreme environments (high
heat and salt); many phyla in the oceans, especially near mid-ocean ridges, and high salinity regions.
Domain Eukarya: single- and multi-celled organisms, cell has nucleus and other organelles
Kingdom Protista: single-celled, colonial, and multicellular eukaryotes; pp.234-237
Phylum Chrysophyta: diatoms, coccolithophores, silicoflagellates
Phylum Pyrrophyta: dinoflagellates, zooxanthellae
Phylum Sarcodina: amoebas, foraminiferans, radiolarians
Phylum Chlorophyta: single and multicellular green algae; pp.250
Phylum Phaeophyta: brown algae, kelp; pp.238-245
Phylum Rhodophyta: red algae, encrusting and coralline forms
Kingdom Fungi: mushrooms, lichens, molds; not well represented in oceans; pp.256-257
Kingdom Plantae: photosynthetic autotrophs; pp.252-255
Kingdom Animalia: multicellular heterotrophs
Phylum Porifera: sponges; pp.260-261
Phylum Cnidaria: jellyfish, etc.; pp.262-272
Class Hydrozoa: Portuguese Man-of-War; polyp-like with medusa life stage
Class Scyphozoa: jellyfish with no polyp stage
Class Cubozoa: sea wasps
Class Anthozoa: sea anemones, sea pens, coral
Phylum Ctenophora: comp jellies; p.319
Phylum Platyhelminthes: flatworms, tapeworms, many parasitic; pp.273-274
Phylum "emertea: ribbon worms; p.275
Phylum Gastroticha: microscopic , ciliated, lives between grains of sediment; p.318
Phylum Kinoryncha: small, spiny segmented, worm-like; p.318
Phylum Bryozoa: common, encrusting, colonial; p.307
Phylum Brachiopoda: lamp shells, bivalve animals, ancient clam-like; p.227
Phylum Mollusca: second largest animal phylum; pp.278-291
Class Gastropoda: snails, abalones (a sea otter food), sea slugs (nudibranchs)
Class Cephalopoda: squid, octopuses, nautiluses
Class Bivalvia: clams, oysters, scallops, mussels
Phylum Arthropoda: exoskeleton, jointed legs, largest animal phylum; pp.292-306
Class Crustacea: copepods, barnacles, krill, shrimp, lobsters, crabs
Class Chelicerata: horseshoe crabs (Of what medical use are these animals?)
Phylum Annelida: segmented worms, polychaetes, feather dusters; pp.276-277
Phylum Vestimentifera: giant tube worms; p.317

Marine Organisms

F. Hafer

2012

Kingdom Animalia, continued.

Phylum Echinodermata: spiny-skinned, benthic, radial symmetry; pp.308-314
Class Asteroidea: sea stars
Class Ophiuroidea: brittle stars
Class Echinoidea: sea urchins (preferred food of sea otters); p.312
Class Holothuroidea: sea cucumbers; p.314
Class Crinoidea: crinoids, feather stars; p.313
Phylum Chordata: with central notochord
Subphylum Urochordata: sea squirts, tunicates; p.320
Subphylum Vertebrata: with backbone
Class Myxini: jawless fishes, lampreys, hagfish; p.322
Class Chondrichthyes: cartilage skeleton, sharks, rays ; p.324-337
Class Osteichthyes: bony fishes, includes most food fish; p.338-371
Order Silurifomes: catfish
Order Salmoniformes: salmon, some anadromous (?)
Order Clupeformes: herring, sardines
Order Gadimormes: cod
Order Perciformes: snapper, mahi-mahi, tuna, mackerel, sailfish
Order Pleuroformes: turbot, flounder, sole
Order Lophiformes: the weirdest fishes, p.352-353
Class Reptilia: sea snakes, alligators, crocodiles,
turtles (adult turtles have no predators, except humans); p.372-381
Class Aves: birds; p.382-403
Order Sphenisciformes: penguins
Order Procellariformes: albatrosses, petrels
Order Charadriliformes: sea gulls
Order Pelecaniformes: what type of birds are in this order?
Class Mammalia: warm-blooded, mammary glands; p.404-423
Order Cetacea: whales, porpoises, dolphins; pp.412-422
Order Sirenia: dugongs, manatees; p.423
Order Carnivora: meat-eating
Suborder Pinnipedia: seals, sea lions, walruses; p.408
Suborder Fissipedia: sea otters; p.406
Suborder Ursidae: polar bears

Order Primates: monkeys, baboons, apes, orangutans, lemurs, humans

Family Hominidae: great apes, humans
Genus Homo: modern humans, and ancestors
Species: sapiens (wise), modern humans

Marine Organisms

F. Hafer

2012