The ocean biome is divided into different types of ecosystems. They can be open sea, coastal and estuary. These ecosystems are also known as the smaller biomes. The open sea refers to the area of sea which is beyond the continental shelf. The open sea is divided into the photic, aphotic and abyssal zones. They are divided on the basis of light. Mainly, it has two parts that is pelagic and benthonic. The pelagic is further divided into epipelagic, mesopelagic and bathypelagic types. The photic region is also known as the epipelagic region. It consists of both the producers and consumers. The aphotic region is also known as the mesopelagic region. It consists of both the producers and consumers but the producers are less in number as compared to the consumers. The abyssal zone has no producers at all. It consists of the scavenger and decomposers.
The producers in the open sea are known as the phytoplankton. It includes the diatoms, Dinoflagellates and many unicellular along with the multicellular algae. A few of the flagellates are luminescent. The Sargasso is the large sized phytoplankton. They make the food of phytoplankton. It includes the protozoan, crustaceans and larvae. The large sized zooplankton includes the jelly fish, physalia and gastropods. The zooplanktons are the source of food of whales. The marine birds may also occur. The free swimming form consists of fishes, snails and turtles. The abyssal zone has no producers at all and it consists of carnivorous animals. They have light emitting organs to attract the other animals. They have unique baits, telescopic eyes, large head with the large jaw and teeth, brown or grey in color. The benthonic zone consists of the scavenger and decomposers. The bottom of the sea also has silica and calcium shells.
The coastal region is the area of continental shelf. It is mainly divided into the intertidal, littoral and neritic zones. The intertidal zone is uncovered. The littoral zone forms the floor of ocean and the neritic zone forms the main part of water body of area. It has a very good productivity. It is around four thousand kilo calorie per meter square per year while in the open sea it is one thousand kilo calorie per meter square per year. The sand beaches have higher productivity and they belong to the intertidal region. There are very few plants in these regions and the animals present in this region are crabs and copepods. The sandy beaches have less biota as compared to the rocky beaches which have a good biota. The rocky beach faces a submergence and exposure area. The variations are seen in the temperature, light and in the salt content. There is a presence of abundant mucin in these areas. They help to protect against desiccation. The phytoplankton is the main producers in this area. There are also attached algae. The seed plants like zostera also occur. There are certain consumers which are known as snails, spring tails, hermit crab, sponges and sea urchin etc. There is a strong wave of action in the littoral zone. There are multiple brown and red algae. The sponges, sea anemone, corals and polecats form the consumers. There are multiple decomposers. The nekton visits the area and feed on the organisms. The neritic zone is composed of free floating alga and the phytoplankton such as diatoms, Dinoflagellates and blue and green algae. They act as producers. The consumers are composed of the zooplankton. The protozoa’s, copepods, small jelly fishes and salpa are the main consumers. The fishes, turtles, sea birds and squids form the nekton. The coastal region consists of the coral region. It is highly productive and is formed of corals. The main organisms are the calcareous algae and coelenterates. They show the maximum diversity and include all the algae and animals. The most common organisms are the sponges, fishes, echinoderms and crustaceans.
The estuary is defined as a coastal bay which is composed of the tidal mouth of river. Their salinity is not constant it keeps on changing as the fresh water mixes with the sea water. It ranges from 1 to 4 percent. It also shows the changes in temperature. The region has a lot of stress which is attributed to the turbulence. It is the area which shows one of the highest productivity. This is mainly due to the presence of nutrients and a quick removal of excretory wastes. It also includes the fresh water as well as marine biota. The phytoplanktons are present which are composed of diatoms, Dinoflagellates and blue and green algae and act as producers. The zooplanktons are composed of the protozoa’s, copepods, small jelly fishes and salpa and are the main consumers. The benthon are floating and have an attachment to the other organisms.
The lakes and ponds are stationary bodies which include the fresh water. They are present in the land in all types of biomes. The ponds are small in size and are less deep. They are present in an area which is less than 1 hectare in size and their depth is not more than 2 meter. On the other hand the lakes are larger in size and are deeper. They are present in an area which is more than 1 hectare in size and their depth is more than 2 meter. The ponds can be manmade or may occur in nature. They get filled with the water which may be clear or muddy in appearance. There are different types of ponds. They can be temporary or permanent. The temporary pond consists of the phytoplankton and the zooplankton. It also has few other types of animals which are not stationary. The permanent consists of the phytoplankton and the zooplankton along with the multiple animals. There are many reasons which lead to the formation of lakes. This may be due to the formation of glaciations’, natural or manmade depressions and the ox bow lakes which are formed from the main stream of river. The source of water, latitude, altitude and the biomes play a crucial role in deciding the status of nutrition and the physical factors of lake. The lakes are further divided into the different parts which depend upon their productivity. They can be eutrophic or oligotrophic. The eutrophic lakes are rich in the biota and show a quick circulation of nutrients. They are not deep. The Dal lake of Kashmir is included under it. The oligotrophic lakes are not rich in the biota and do not show a quick circulation of nutrients. They are deep. They occur in the dry areas. The Sambar lake of Rajasthan is included under it.
The shallow lakes and the permanent ponds have a similar type of biota. The phytoplankton’s are present which are composed of diatoms, Dinoflagellates, chlorella, spirogyra, zygnma and blue and green algae which act as producers. The free floating plants can also be rooted. They cover up the small ponds. The suspended macrophytes and submerged plants which are anchored are also present. There are the anchored plants with the floating leaves and there are some emerged plants which are fixed in the ocean. But they have the ability to come out of water. The zooplanktons are composed of the protozoa’s, copepods, small jelly fishes and salpa and are the main consumers. The nekton, benthon and water birds are also included under the consumers. The water boatman, water spiders, beetles, turtles and fishes come under the nekton. There are some common water birds which are ducks, kingfishers and cranes etc. The benthon is represented by snails, clams, mussels, prawns and decomposers. The marshes are wet lands which have turbid water. They are few centimeter deep and receive water from rains and drains. They occur at the side of railways and roads. They have depressions present at these places and they occur at the expense of soil and mud. They also occur at the rivers and streams. The marshes have little or no plankton as the water is present temporarily. The flora of this area is mainly formed of amphibians. The plants included are the emerged hydrophytes. Some of the plants are floating and have the ability to fix in the mud. The depressions also occur in the forests and rivers. The animals found in the marshes are the snails, larvae, frog and insects etc.
The streams and rivers are also known as the lotic ecosystem. These are the fresh water flowing bodies in which the physical and chemical conditions are different. It includes the temperature, speed of water, light and the oxygen content. The glaciers and high mountains give rise to perennial rivers. They have a low temperature and high speed. These features are present in the upper reach. The features present in the lower reach are the moderate temperature and lower speed. There are a lot of differences between a river and lakes. They differ in speed, the high land water interchange and the higher oxygen tension. This leads to decrease in the pollution. The high speed and low temperature leads to the small plankton community. It is present in the upper reaches. The detritus from land act as a food for consumer communities. The detrivores can also work as a producer of ecosystem and are primary in their nature. The slowing down of water current and the warming of water leads to the lower down growth of plankton. The river beds with sand are less productive as compared to the other river beds. The other producer floras are the attached algae, diatoms, mosses, submerged seed plants, water grasses and reeds. The amphibious plants which are present on the shallow banks are also included under it. The active swimmers with a streamline body acts as a consumers. They include the fishes, crocodiles and mink. The animals with a flat body can reside in the other places and includes the flatworm and stonefly. They occur beneath the rocks. A few birds obtain their food from river ecosystem and a few animals have hookers and suckers which helps them to attach to the undersurfaces. It includes the snails and few larvae.