p. 412 The Marine Environment
Coasts of the World's Oceans
This site has photographs of many of the seashore features discussed in this chapter. Find out what five factors determine which types of shorelines occur on a given coast. Which of these five factors is the primary factor affecting the coastline of tropical areas?
About
Estuaries
At this Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) site you can learn
more about the importance of estuaries. The National Estuary Program
is an EPA program that provides information about estuaries to the public.
Scroll down to find out how important estuaries are to fisheries in
the United States. What percentage of commercial fish species make their
homes in estuaries? What percentage of recreational fish species live
there?
Great Lakes Shoreline Formation
Visit this site to find out how shorelines in the Great Lakes form. Write an entry in your Science Journal that explains how glaciers were important to the formation of the Great Lakes.
p. 427 Hydrothermal Vent Communities
Hydrothermal
Environments on the Ocean Floor
This Web site includes links to many other sites that have information
about hydrothermal vents and their inhabitants. Produced by the Wayne
County Regional Educational Service Agency, Michigan, this site has
lots of material on hydrothermal vents and their communities of organisms.
Click on Hydrothermal Communities for general information, then click
on Tubeworms and Spider crabs to see photographs of these unique organisms.
The giant tubeworm, Riftia pachyptila, grows to 1.5 m in length.
However, it has no digestive system. How does the giant tubeworm obtain
nutrients?
VENTS Web site
The VENTS program was established in 1984 to promote understanding of
the chemical and thermal effects of venting along the seafloor of the
Pacific Ocean. This NOAA site provides information to scientists, and
the public, on this subject. Click on basic questions to find answers
to questions you might have about hydrothermal vents and find out why
scientists are studying them.
Deep Sea Hydrothermal Vents
What is it like deep in the ocean near a hydrothermal vent?
At this University of Washington, School of Oceanography Exploraquarium
site, you can learn about hydrothermal vents, then scroll down and choose
your own scientific adventure to find out.
USGS
– Exploring the Deep Ocean Floor: Hot Springs and Strange Creatures
Visit this site by the U.S. Geological Survey for a history
of the discovery of hydrothermal vent communities. The site includes
photographs of organisms found at hydrothermal vents. In the late 1980s,
scientists made another discovery at some hydrothermal vents. What is
this discovery, and why is it important?
p. 432 Deep-sea Food Chains
Deep
Sea Anglerfish
Visit this site to see photographs of several different species
of deep sea anglerfishes. Learn how a male anglerfish becomes attached
to a female. After hatching, where do young anglerfish live? What process
do they undergo before they become adults and migrate to deep water?
Deep-Sea
Bestiary
Explore this NOVA site to see photographs of deep sea organisms,
including anglerfish, viperfish, and gulpers. After you scan all of
these organisms, identify which one is know as "the toad that fishes
with a net." What are the two ways that this fish attracts its prey?
Seaweek
’97 – Life and Living in the Deep Sea
At this site you can learn all about the physical and chemical
conditions that deep sea organisms live with. Read through the material
on food to find out what type of food is known as marine snow. Where
does marine snow originate?
