Photic zone: What is, flora and fauna

To the existing water stratum in the aquatic ecosystems included between the surface and the depth to which sunlight penetratesis known as the photic zone. Determining where the photic zone is complex because it depends on which aquatic ecosystem is treated: the photic area of ​​the water of a river is not the same as that of an ocean.

The height of the water column that corresponds to the photic zone varies considerably and will always depend on the volume and depth that the body of water in question presents. It should be noted that the concept of euphotic zone is reserved for the surface water layer that reaches where the process of photosynthesis with breathing is matched.

Now that we learned what it is, let’s know seven of the Characteristics of the photic zone:

• It is the stratum where the greater photosynthetic activity: photosynthetic organisms that constitute phytoplankton and some species of aquatic plants accumulate in the photic area, which increases primary productivity.
• It is the warmer stratum: Due to the penetration of sunlight.
• Constitutes the level with higher oxygen content: Due to the presence of phytoplankton.
• It is usually a stratum poor in nutrients: But light and temperature conditions can maintain high productivity due to the photosynthetic process of the phytoplankton.
• The Nutrient renewal: It occurs through the outcrop and turbulent mixture of deeper waters that have high concentrations of nutrients.
• In the photic zone is the Most of the aquatic life.
• The depth varies Depending on the water: in very murky waters the depth of the photic area is a few centimeters, while in transparent waters as in the tropical oceans it can reach 200 meters.

Do you want to know what is in the photic area? We invite you to continue reading this interesting article.

Flora is a concept that encompasses the set of native or exotic plants of a certain ecosystem. Within the photic zone we can find different organisms belonging to the plant kingdom, let’s know some of them:

• Green algae of the phytoplankton: present in both marine and freshwater ecosystems, constitute a large part of the phytoplankton and have photosyntizer pigments such as chlorophyll ay b.
• Aquatic grasslands: There are species of submerged plants of marine or freshwater ecosystems that inhabit muddy or shallow sandy areas since they need solar radiation to be able to photosynthesize. An example is the prairies of turtle grass (Thalassia Testudinum) or those of Oceanica Posidonia.

The photic zone is also formed by Phytoplankton consisting of microscopic organisms such as cyanobacteria and diatoms, but we cannot include them within the flora because they belong to the bacterial and protist kingdoms, correspondingly.

A similar case occurs with algae forests or large Kelps forests in marine ecosystems because they do not belong to the plant kingdom, but are part of the protist kingdom.

As mentioned above, a large percentage of aquatic life is part of the photic zone. This is mainly because Phytoplankton constitutes the bases On the trophic chains in these ecosystems, so various animals depend on these organisms to feed.

Many individuals, feeding on phytoplankton, attract various predators swimming from deeper waters to the surface in search of food. Let’s see what are the most common visitors:

• Zooplankton: Many organisms belonging to zooplankton migrate during the night towards the photic area in order to feed on phytoplankton. At dawn they return to deeper areas. If you want to know what zooplankton is you can discover it here.
• Necton: It consists of swimming organisms that are able to move by their own will, feed on zooplankton and They move the energy to higher levels of the trophic chain. Within the Necton group we can find several species of crustaceans, cephalopods, fish, sharks, whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, turtles and even some water birds such as penguins. It should be noted that some of these species are usually restricted to the photic zone such as tuna, while others perform daily migrations to get food. Here you can consult more information about the Necton: what is and examples.
• Corals: Formed by a symbiotic association, corals obtain the greatest amount of nutrients from the photosynthesis of their algal component so they are almost exclusive to the photic area. Do not hesitate to take a look at the next post about what a coral reef is in Ecology Verde.

If you want to read more articles similar to Photic zone: What is, flora and faunawe recommend that you enter our category of ecosystems.