Kategorier: Alla - ecology - adaptations - vertebrates

av Darianne Cabral för 5 årar sedan

213

Oceanic nekton

Nekton, predominantly vertebrates, are powerful swimmers inhabiting the upper layers of the open ocean, known as the epipelagic zone. These creatures, which include various species of sharks, fish, marine mammals, and cephalopod mollusks, exhibit significant adaptations that enhance their mobility, sensory perception, and ability to evade predators.

Oceanic nekton

Oceanic nekton

Examples

Marine mammals, reptiles, birds Only invertebrates – cephalopod mollusks

Adaptations

Must stay afloat gas or swim bladders
great mobility nervous and sensory systems development navigate, capture food, avoid predators faster swimming speeds development of camouflage
Light, temperature, density, and currents perception of environment three dimensional transparent medium - water no shelter for predators

Habitat

Meroepipelagic
Only part of the time in epipelagic More diverse group Spawn inshore waters
Holoepepelagic
thresher shark, mackerel shark, blue shark Floating eggs waters of tropics, subtropics

Characteristics

Developed power of locomotion Large animals Fast moving Predominantly vertebrates Fish are most numerous nekton Found in epipelagic zone of open ocean Difficult to study in sea Difficult to capture under natural conditions Scientists forced to infer Most direct contact is with seals, sea lion porpoise Importance to ecology Tunas – major world fishery Most popular are whales - controversy