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The hadal zone, also known as the hadopelagic zone, is the deepest region of the ocean, lying within oceanic trenches. The hadal zone ranges from around 6 to 11 km (3.7 to 6.8 mi; 20,000 to 36,000 ft) below sea level , and exists in long, narrow, topographic V-shaped depressions.
Location of the Mariana Trench: an example of a hadal zone. Hadal zone microbial communities are the groups of microorganisms which reside within hadal zones, which consist of many individual deep oceanic trenches found around the world. [1] The environmental conditions of the trench environments select for the microbe communities.
The epipelagic zone, otherwise known as the sunlit zone or the euphotic zone, goes to a depth of about 200 meters (656 feet). It is the depth of water to which sunlight is able to penetrate. Although it is only 2 to 3 percent of the entire ocean, the epipelagic zone is home to a massive number of organisms. [3]
Life for many marine organisms begins near the ocean surface. Buoyant eggs hatch into planktonic larvae that develop and disperse in the ocean for weeks to months before transitioning into juveniles and eventually finding suitable adult habitat. [97] The pelagic larval stage connects populations and serves as a source of new adults.
Siphonophorae (from Greek siphōn 'tube' + pherein 'to bear' [2]) is an order within Hydrozoa, which is a class of marine organisms within the phylum Cnidaria. According to the World Register of Marine Species, the order contains 175 species described thus far. [3] Siphonophores are highly polymorphic and complex organisms. [4]
Many organisms in the mesopelagic zone move up into the epipelagic zone at night, and retreat to the mesopelagic zone during the day, which is known as diel vertical migration. [8] These migrators can therefore avoid visual predators during the day and feed at night, while some of their predators also migrate up at night to follow the prey.
The thin band between perpetual night and day, known as a termination zone, could have just the right ingredients for life to flourish.
A marine coastal ecosystem is a marine ecosystem which occurs where the land meets the ocean. Worldwide there is about 620,000 kilometres (390,000 mi) of coastline. Coastal habitats extend to the margins of the continental shelves, occupying about 7 percent of the ocean surface area.