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Above the neritic zone lie the intertidal (or eulittoral) and supralittoral zones; below it the continental slope begins, descending from the continental shelf to the abyssal plain and the pelagic zone. Within the neritic, marine biologists also identify the following: [citation needed]
The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean and can be further divided into regions by depth. The word pelagic is derived from Ancient Greek πέλαγος (pélagos) ' open sea '. [1] The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or water column between the surface of the sea and the bottom.
A school of large pelagic predator fish (bluefin trevally) sizing up a school of small pelagic prey fish (). Pelagic fish live in the pelagic zone of ocean or lake waters—being neither close to the bottom nor near the shore—in contrast with demersal fish that live on or near the bottom, and reef fish that are associated with coral reefs.
Coastal fish, also called inshore fish or neritic fish, inhabit the sea between the shoreline and the edge of the continental shelf. Since the continental shelf is usually less than 200 metres (660 ft) deep, it follows that pelagic coastal fish are generally epipelagic fish , inhabiting the sunlit epipelagic zone . [ 1 ]
The oceanic zone is typically defined as the area of the ocean lying beyond the continental shelf (e.g. the neritic zone), but operationally is often referred to as beginning where the water depths drop to below 200 metres (660 ft), seaward from the coast into the open ocean with its pelagic zone. It is the region of open sea beyond the edge of ...
Oceanic nekton comprises aquatic animals largely from three clades: Vertebrates (phylum Chordata), particularly pelagic fish, cetaceans and sea turtles, form the largest contribution; these animals have endoskeletons made of bones and cartilages and propel themselves via a powerful tail and fan/paddle-shaped appendages such as fins, flippers or ...
Open ocean habitats are found in the deep ocean beyond the edge of the continental shelf. Alternatively, marine habitats can be divided into pelagic and demersal zones. Pelagic habitats are found near the surface or in the open water column, away from the bottom of the ocean. Demersal habitats are near or on the bottom of the ocean.
Very little is known about the microbial community of the mesopelagic zone because it is a difficult part of the ocean to study. Recent work using DNA from seawater samples emphasized the importance of viruses and microbes role in recycling organic matter from the surface ocean, known as the microbial loop.