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The photic zone (or euphotic zone, epipelagic zone, or sunlight zone) is the uppermost layer of a body of water that receives sunlight, allowing phytoplankton to perform photosynthesis. It undergoes a series of physical, chemical, and biological processes that supply nutrients into the upper water column .
Epipelagic fish inhabit the epipelagic zone, the uppermost layer of the water column, ranging from sea level down to 200 m (660 ft). It is also referred to as the surface waters or the sunlit zone, and includes the photic zone.
The most abundant organisms thriving into the mesopelagic zone are heterotrophic bacteria. [5] Animals living in this zone include swordfish, squid, wolffish and some species of cuttlefish. Many organisms living here are bioluminescent. [6] Some mesopelagic creatures rise to the epipelagic zone at night to feed. [6]
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] Coastal fish can be contrasted with oceanic fish or offshore fish, which inhabit the deep seas beyond the continental shelves.
Ichthyoplankton (from Greek: ἰχθύς, ikhthus, "fish"; and πλαγκτός, planktos, "drifter" [1]) are the eggs and larvae of fish. They are mostly found in the sunlit zone of the water column, less than 200 metres deep, which is sometimes called the epipelagic or photic zone.
The surface waters are sunlit. The waters down to about 200 metres are said to be in the epipelagic zone. Enough sunlight enters the epipelagic zone to allow photosynthesis by phytoplankton. The epipelagic zone is usually low in nutrients. This partially because the organic debris produced in the zone, such as excrement and dead animals, sink ...
More than 100 species of fishes develop and grow in surface slick nurseries before transitioning to adults (solid white lines radiating outward) in Coral Reefs (7–12), Epipelagic (13–15), and Deep-water (16–17) ocean habitats.
All of the light zones can be found in the oceanic zone. The epipelagic zone is the one closest to the surface and is the best lit. It extends to 100 meters and contains both phytoplankton and zooplankton that can support larger organisms like marine mammals and some types of fish. Past 100 meters, not enough light penetrates the water to ...