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Benthic-pelagic coupling are processes that connect the benthic zone and the pelagic zone through the exchange of energy, mass, or nutrients. These processes play a prominent role in both freshwater and marine ecosystems and are influenced by a number of chemical, biological, and physical forces that are crucial to functions from nutrient cycling to energy transfer in food webs.
Altogether, the pelagic zone occupies 1,330 million km 3 (320 million mi 3) with a mean depth of 3.68 km (2.29 mi) and maximum depth of 11 km (6.8 mi). [2] [3] [4] Pelagic life decreases as depth increases. The pelagic zone contrasts with the benthic and demersal zones at the bottom of the sea. The benthic zone is the ecological region at the ...
As with oceans, the benthic zone is the floor of the lake, composed of accumulated sunken organic matter. The littoral zone is the zone bordering the shore; light penetrates easily and aquatic plants thrive. The pelagic zone represents the broad mass of water, down as far as the depth to which no light penetrates. [9]
The benthic boundary layer (BBL) plays a vital role in the cycling of matter and is commonly referred to as the “endpoint” or "sink" for sediment material, which fuels high metabolic rates for microbial populations. [7] The particles from the pelagic ecosystem sink to the BBL where they will be used by organisms. [2]
Pelagic species tend to be more efficient high speed swimmers while benthic ones are efficient at lower speeds. Many Benthic rays have adapted to be incredibly stealthy, they have a low profile and create very little disturbance when they move.
The location of the top of the sediment-water interface in the water column is defined as the break in the vertical gradient of some dissolved component, such as oxygen, where the concentration transitions from higher concentration in the well-mixed water above to a lower concentration at the sediment surface.
Consequently, these species have short pelagic larval durations and do not disperse long distances. Planktotrophic larvae feed while they are in the water column and can be over a long time pelagic and so disperse over long distances. This disperse ability is a key adaptation of benthic marine invertebrates. [3]
Salps are closely related to the pelagic tunicate groups Doliolida and Pyrosoma, as well as to other bottom-living (benthic) tunicates. Although salps appear similar to jellyfish because of their simple body form and planktonic behavior, they are chordates: animals with dorsal nerve cords, related to vertebrates (animals with backbones).