Friday’s class was all about the different levels of the ocean. If you know a little about the air above us, you’ve probably heard that the sky is broken up into several different levels such as the stratosphere. The ocean is the same way, and as you enter different levels of the ocean, the organisms that exist there change dramatically. If you’re looking for plants, you’re best chance of finding them is looking in the photic zone, the area of the ocean that light passes through. This light allows the plants to conduct photosynthesis, the process by which plants make their own food. Animals deeper down must adapt to pitch black conditions, where other senses must replace sight.
Our understanding of these depth levels is important because it helps us understand the adaptations that organisms must undergo to survive at what we might call “extreme” environments.
