Question

Answer the following question in about 150 words.
1) Distinguish between biota of the pelagic and benthic zones of the oceans with examples.​

Answer 1

Answer:

In the ocean, the pelagic zone is the surface or the sub-surface water layers where the fishes, squids and all swimming organisms live. This also includes the floating but not rooted microalgae and algae. tiny organisms which do not have or have a very insignifacant swimming or moving activities such as phyto and zooplankton. The most important fishes of the pelagic zone are mackerel, tuna., herring, sardine etc. These fishes feed exclusively in the pelagic zone.

On the other hand the benthic zone animals and plants are the rooted submerged plants if any and animals like crabs, lobsters, prawns, fishes viz., sole and flat fishes which remain on the bottom and feed there. The benthic zone receives dead organic matter from the pelagic zone, decomposes the same through the process of mineralization and returns the nutrients back to water, even the surface water, through the process of up-welling. The benthic zoner is thus the most important zone which maintains the productivity of the ocean waters.