What animals live in the contenenatal shelf?

Lobster, Dungeness crab, tuna, cod, halibut, sole and mackerel can be found. Permanent rock fixtures are home to anemones, sponges, clams, oysters, scallops, mussels and coral. Larger animals such as whales and sea turtles can be seen in continental shelf areas as they follow migration routes.

1. What is found on the continental shelf?
2. What animals live in the continental slope?
3. Does the continental shelf have life?
4. Why is most ocean life found on near the continental shelf?
5. Is the ocean bigger than the Earth?
6. Is the Deepest Indian ocean Trench?
7. What animals live in the abyssal plain?
8. Why are continental shelves important?
9. What creatures live in the abyssal zone?
10. Do most marine organisms live near the continental shelf?
11. Where is most marine life?
12. Which ocean zone has the most animals?
13. Which zone is richer in plant and animal life?
14. Are continents connected to the ocean floor?
15. What is the largest continental shelf?

What is found on the continental shelf?

Continental shelves are usually covered with a layer of sand, silts, and silty muds. Their surfaces exhibit some relief, featuring small hills and ridges that alternate with shallow depressions and valleylike troughs.

What animals live in the continental slope?

Different Slope Communities

Dover sole, sablefish, and rockfish (fig. 4) have this type of life history; however, most species living deeper, such as rattails, deep-sea soles, and slickheads, have young that live in the same depths as adults. Relatively few species occur at all or most depths on the Continental Slope.

Does the continental shelf have life?

Sunlight penetrates the shallow waters, and many kinds of organisms flourish—from microscopic shrimp to giant seaweed called kelp. Ocean currents and runoff from rivers bring nutrients to organisms that live on continental shelves.

Why is most ocean life found on near the continental shelf?

These flat, shallow ledges gently slope from the shore to a steep drop called the continental slope. The shallow, sunlit waters of the continental shelf are flooded with nutrients, supporting an abundance of sea life. Many animals live here. Ninety percent of the world's fish are found along the continental shelf.

Is the ocean bigger than the Earth?

Water covers more than 70 percent of the Earth's surface, with the largest body of water, the Pacific Ocean, taking up more than one-third of the planet's surface.

Is the Deepest Indian ocean Trench?

The Indian Ocean's average depth is 12,274 feet (3,741 metres), and its deepest point, in the Sunda Deep of the Java Trench off the southern coast of the island of Java (Indonesia), is 24,442 feet (7,450 metres).

What animals live in the abyssal plain?

Animals that commonly occur in abyssal sediments include molluscs, worms (nematodes, sipunculids, polychaetes, hemichordates and vestimentiferans) and echinoderms (holothuroids, asteroids, ophiuroids, echinoids, and crinoids).

Why are continental shelves important?

The significance of the continental shelf is that it may contain valuable minerals and shellfish. UNCLOS addresses the issue of jurisdiction over these resources by allocating sovereign rights to the coastal State for exploration and exploitation.

What creatures live in the abyssal zone?

Animals in this zone include anglerfish, deep sea jellyfish, deep sea shrimp, cookiecutter shark, tripod fish, and abyssal octopus also known as the dumbo octopus. The animals that live in this zone will eat anything since food is very scarce this deep down in the ocean.

Do most marine organisms live near the continental shelf?

Most marine life is found in coastal habitats, even though the shelf area occupies only seven percent of the total ocean area. Open ocean habitats are found in the deep ocean beyond the edge of the continental shelf. Alternatively, marine habitats can be divided into pelagic and demersal zones.

Where is most marine life?

Most ocean life can be found in coastal habitats on the continental shelf, even if this area occupies only 7% of the total ocean area. Most of the open ocean habitats are found in the deep ocean beyond the edge of the continental shelf.

Which ocean zone has the most animals?

The epipelagic zone reaches from the surface of the ocean down to around 650 feet. This is the zone most exposed to light, and as such is host to the highest concentrations of the ocean's life. There are thousands of animals that roam this zone, including dolphins, most sharks, jellyfish, tuna and corals.

Which zone is richer in plant and animal life?

Sea Kelp Facts

The sunlight zone of the ocean is the most ripe with both plant and animal life.

Are continents connected to the ocean floor?

The continents rise about 2.5 miles (4 km) above the ocean floor. ... We today know a lot about Earth's crust; for example, we know it is subject to continuous tectonic activity, whereby great land plates (both continental and oceanic) move slowly over our world's underlying mantle.

What is the largest continental shelf?

Notes: The largest continental shelf is the Siberian Shelf in the Arctic Ocean.