Oceans make up the largest biome, the marine biome, which covers more than 70 percent of the earth’s surface. The world beneath the waves offers a variety of environments for living things. In the shallow waters where the sea meets the shore, the coming and going of the tides creates ever changing conditions for living things such as sea anemones, starfish and crabs.
Just off shore in temperate regions, giant kelp forests shelter sea otters and other marine life. Around the globe where the waters are warm and shallow, reefs arise formed from the rocky skeletons of dead coral. Many colorful mollusks, crustaceans and fishes live in these reefs.
The open ocean is home to prowling sharks, schools of tuna, drifting jelly fish and many other forms of life. The waters are filled with microscopic plants and animals called plankton – food for small fish and squid. Larger fish feed on smaller fish.
The world’s largest mammal, the whale, is at home in the open ocean. Sea birds also depend on the ocean. Skimming above the swells, they search for flying fish, needle fish and other sea food below.
In the cold ocean deep, perpetual darkness and a heavy pressure of the water have created the strangest sea life of all. Creatures…
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