Biome

Neritic Zone

Marine and Coastal Biomes

The neritic zone is the relatively shallow part of the ocean above the drop-off of the continental shelf, extending to a depth of about 200 meters. Sunlight reaches the ocean floor throughout the zone, keeping it within the photic zone where photosynthesis can occur, and its abundant light, well-oxygenated water and stable temperature and salinity make it exceptionally productive. These conditions let the neritic zone support the majority of the world's marine life and commercial fisheries through high primary production and complex food webs.

Facts

Climate

Typical Low Temperature (C)

-2 1

Same reasoning as the neritic zone high figure: shallow shelf water shares the polar surface freezing point already used for Open Ocean and Marine.

Typical High Temperature (C)

30 1

The neritic zone is the shallow, surface-connected water over the continental shelf, so it shares the same tropical surface temperature extreme as the Open Ocean and Marine biomes on the same source.

Disputed

Annual Precipitation (mm)

990 2

Same global land+ocean blended figure and caveat used for Open Ocean and Marine; the neritic zone has no isolated shelf-water precipitation figure on an accessible source.

Neritic Zone

31 entries

Common Group

Taxonomy

Conservation Status

Ecosystem

Everyday Group

Diet

System (Realm)

Threats

Relationship to People

Living or Extinct

Where It Lives

Demonstrates

Upwelling

Home To

Black-headed gull

Source NatureServe Explorer: Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Blue King Crab

Source NatureServe Explorer: Paralithodes platypus

Bootlace Worm (Lineus longissimus)

Source GBIF: Lineus longissimus

Bridled tern

Source NatureServe Explorer: Onychoprion anaethetus

Coconut Octopus

Source SeaLifeBase: Amphioctopus marginatus summary

Common murre

Source NatureServe Explorer: Uria aalge

Dusky dolphin

Source SeaLifeBase: Lagenorhynchus obscurus summary

Flatback Sea Turtle

Source Flatback Sea Turtle (Wikipedia)

Glaucous Gull

Source NatureServe Explorer: Larus hyperboreus

Goliath Grouper

Source NatureServe: NatureServe Explorer: Epinephelus itajara

Gray Whale

Source NatureServe Explorer: Eschrichtius robustus

Grey Seal

Source NatureServe Explorer: Halichoerus grypus

Haliotis Discus

Source SeaLifeBase: Haliotis discus summary

Japanese Flying Squid

Source SeaLifeBase: Todarodes pacificus summary

Least tern

Source NatureServe Explorer: Sternula antillarum

Lesser black-backed gull

Source NatureServe Explorer: Larus fuscus

Lined Seahorse

Source Wikipedia: Lined seahorse

Nautilus vitiensis

Source SeaLifeBase: Nautilus vitiensis

North Atlantic Right Whale

Source NatureServe Explorer: Eubalaena glacialis

Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus)

Source NatureServe Explorer: Morus bassanus

Olive Ridley Sea Turtle

Source NatureServe Explorer: Lepidochelys olivacea

Ormer

Source SeaLifeBase: Haliotis tuberculata

Pantropical spotted dolphin

Source NatureServe Explorer: Stenella attenuata

Pink Salmon

Source NatureServe Explorer: Oncorhynchus gorbuscha

Razorbill

Source NatureServe Explorer: Alca torda

Red Snapper

Source NatureServe Explorer: Lutjanus campechanus

Royal tern

Source NatureServe Explorer: Thalasseus maximus

Sea Walnut (Mnemiopsis leidyi)

Source NatureServe: NatureServe Explorer: Mnemiopsis leidyi

Spanner Crab

Source SeaLifeBase: Ranina ranina

Staghorn Coral

Source NatureServe Explorer: Acropora cervicornis

Sundial Snail

Source SeaLifeBase: Architectonica perspectiva summary

Sources

1. How Does the Temperature of Ocean Water Vary? (NOAA Ocean Exploration)

NOAA Ocean ExplorationIntroduction

Quote, Introduction

These variations in solar energy mean that the ocean surface can vary in temperature from a warm 30°C (86°F) in the tropics to a very cold -2°C (28°F) near the poles.