Title: Life in the Ocean Author: James W. Nybakken and Steven K.

Webster A: List the major ideas, concepts, or key points- point by point - Planet is largely made up of rock, 71 percent of its surface covered with ocean. - Researchers have studied less than 10 percent of the ocean and, because of the difculty of getting safely to the bottom, have explored no more than 1 percent of the deep ocean oor. - Marine animals display a greater diversity of body types than land animals do. - Many marine organisms stay in the upper waters, feeding on the zooplankton and phytoplankton found there. - Life underwater has a unique hue as well. Water absorbs light differently than air does. - The view 10 meters below the surface is mostly blue. A few hundred meters deeper there is no sunlight at all and hence any photosynthesis. - As they sink, these microscopic phytoplankton, zooplankton and decaying particles sustain the fauna of the deep sea. - Much smaller speciescalled prochlorophytesare found in tropical and mid-ocean waters. - Below the well-mixed surface layer is a narrow zonecalled the thermoclinethat separates the warm surface from the colder, and thus heavier, water beneath. - It is this cold, because it receives a constant rain, no light reaches it. - Temperature and depth also play an important role because these variables control the availability of oxygen. - Most creatures just travel through it quickly on their way to the surface or back down, where the water is richer in oxygen. - In the profoundest ocean trenches, the pressure reaches more than 1,100 atmospheres. - Most deep-sea animals are also small. Many midwater shes, for instance, are no more than 20 centimeters long. - Giant squid may reach 20 meters.

- The longest animal in the world appears to be a siphonophore of the genus Praya, which grows to 40 meters in length and is only as thick as a human thumb. - Not surprisingly, the ocean communities and creatures that researchers know best are those nearest shores: coral reefs, sea-grass beds, kelp forests, coastal mangroves, salt marshes, mudflats and estuaries. - Such environments constitute less than 1 percent of the ocean floor by area, but because they are shallow, well lit and adjacent to landmasses, concentration of nutrients and biological productivity are relatively high. - Intertidal zone species have to endure dryness, brightness, shift in temperatures, and wear-andtear from waves. Most animals found here are hard shelled, grips to rocks or hides in crevices. - Weather patterns and seasonal variations also inuence the makeup of the intertidal zone. - Farther offshore sit the rain forests of the marine world: kelp beds and coral reefs. - Coral reefs are almost exclusively conned to the tropics, where sea-surface temperatures do not fall below 18 degrees Celsius (about 64 degrees Fahrenheit). - Kelp forests do poorly in waters this warm; they are best adapted to temperatures between six and 15 degrees C. - Kelp grows very quicklyas much as half a meter a day in some places. - Ninety percent of this plant matter is eaten immediately or washes away to the beach or deep sea, where herbivores later consume it.

B: Summarize the AUTHOR'S main point or idea- at LEAST 1-2 paragraphs Planet is largely made up of rock, 71 percent of its surface covered with ocean. Researchers have studied less than 10 percent of the ocean and, because of the difculty of getting safely to the bottom, have explored no more than 1 percent of the deep ocean oor. In the profoundest ocean trenches, the pressure reaches more than 1,100 atmospheres. Not surprisingly, the ocean communities and creatures that researchers know best are those nearest shores: coral reefs, seagrass beds, kelp forests, coastal mangroves, salt marshes, mudflats and estuaries.

C: Write a reaction paragraph to the article stating your own thoughts on the topic, using specific citations from the article to support your views Researchers have studied less than 10 percent of the ocean and, because of the difculty of getting safely to the bottom, have explored no more than 1 percent of the deep ocean oor, the author said. Through the article I believe that we have to learn much more, because in the whole ocean, but the scientists just only researched 10% of it. For now we should maintain the ocean the way it is, the way its so abundant of too much different kinds of marine organisms.

So What? The oceans are huge A lot of marine organisms 71 percent of plants surface covered with ocean Scientists just researched for like 10% of it What If? Oceans are in damage? - thousands of marine organisms will gone - damage for land

Says Who? James W. Nybakken Steven K. Webster

What Does This Remind Me Of? This reminds me of how I really wanted to know about the species underwater when I was young. There is too much thing I have not known in the world and the ocean.