Ecosystem Project:

Pacific Ocean
By: Ethan, James, Kyle, and Zane
Pacific Ocean
One of the most complex and intricate
ecosystems on the Earth is found in the oceans.
With species yet to be discovered and an
expansive food web you never know what effect
outside factors may have on this fragile system.
Carrying Capacity
The ocean only has a limited amount of space and territory to live in and its
resources can only sustain a certain amount of life. This amount of life that can
survive in the ocean is referred to as the carrying capacity. If per say you limit the
amount of sunlight to a spot in the ocean then the amount of creatures there
would go down because they wouldn't be able to get enough light to get energy
to all of them. In this situation sunlight would be a limiting factor.
Biotic Factors Abiotic Factors
● Fish
● Crustacean -Water: the environment where all
● Whales marine organisms live
● Sharks Water temperature - affects the
● Octopus species metabolism
● Coral
● Snail -Sunlight - Affects the species sight
● Dolphin and what animals live there
● Seal
-Water acidity - if too high, can make
● Plankton
conditions unliveable
● Sea Plants
● Shrimp
Hawaiian monk seal
Species Spotlight
The Hawaiian Monk Seal is an
endangered species of seal native to the
hawaiian islands. There are only two
species of monk seals left and the third
has already gone extinct. The hawaiian
monk seal has been endangered by
overfishing for pelts, entanglement in
fishing, low genetic variation, and
predators. There is only a population of
about 1,400 left.
Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is the process of converting water
and carbon dioxide to glucose with oxygen by
products. It is powered by the sun, which is the
base of all energy in the world. The process takes
place in the chloroplasts, which are located only in
plant cells. The glucose that the plant cells create
can be used by the plant or other animals that
consume the plant for energy. This process is done
by organisms such as phytoplankton and sea kelp.
Cellular Respiration
Cellular respiration is the main way of creating
energy in organisms. It takes place in both
plants and animals and is fueled by O2 and
C6H12O6 (Glucose). The by products of this
cycle are H20, CO2, and ATP. The first phase is
Glycolysis converts glucose to Pyruvate and
NADH, then Phase two, the Krebs cycle takes
these byproducts and uses oxygen to change
ADP to ATP, and creates byproducts of CO2 and
water. Then, the Electron Transport Chain uses
the energy from the Krebs cycle and oxygen to
create ATP at an efficient rate. Water and heat
are given off as byproducts.
Food Web/Food Net
- Food chains and food webs are a way of
diagramming the flow of energy in an
ecosystem
- Ocean food chains, and any food chain begin
with the sun, which the energy is used by
producers, which are usually something like
plankton. Energy is then transferred to 1st level
consumers, which are usually shrimp like
creatures. These organisms only eat producers.
Next, are 2nd level consumers, which are usually
mid to small sized fish. They eat the 1st level
consumers. Last are top level consumers, which
are usually sharks or jellyfish. They eat anything
on the food web.
Carbon Cycle
Respirators: Animals, Factories, Cars,
plants

Absorbers: Plants, Ocean, Ground

(fossils, dead Organisms)
Carbon Cycle

Absorbers: Phytoplankton Photosynthesis,

Particulate Carbon Flux
Respirators: Animals (Monk Seal), Boats
Nitrogen Cycle ● Nitrogen enters cycle from
air, perception, or runoff
from land cycle.
● Nitrogen fixing bacteria
converts the nitrogen to an
useable from.
● Nitrogen is recycled
through ammonification
● Nitrogen is removed
through the denitrifying
microorganisms.
Water Cycle ● All water starts and ends
in the Oceans
● Water evaporates from
any surface water mainly
the ocean.
● Water precipitates onto
land
● Water Runoffs to find its
way to lakes, oceans,
plants, or infiltration to
groundwater.
Problem: Corporate Overfishing

Corporate overfishing is when companies fish

remove large amounts of fish from the ocean,
and this can include poaching. This causes a
massive drop in the number of fish of certain
species in the ocean. This can cause many
species to go hungry and die off. This can cause
many marine species to become endangered or
even go extinct.
Current Solution: Marine Protected Areas
- Usually marine sanctuaries, estuarine
research reserves, ocean parks, and
marine wildlife refuges.
- MPAs may be established to protect
ecosystems, preserve cultural resources
such as shipwrecks and archaeological
sites, or sustain fisheries production
- The National System of MPAs is helping to
weave all of these areas together into an
effective network that can protect species
that move through various habitats during
different life stages
- Ensures that biodiversity of endangered
species are protected and preserved.
New Solution: Worldwide Catch Shares
- Strategy that fisherman and companies use to secure
a share of fish
- A share of fish gets allocated to a company where
that company may do whatever they want with the
fish (within reason), each holder of catch shares must
stop after reaching a limit
- Ensures that annual catch limits are not exceeding to
support rebuilding and sustaining fisheries, reduces
cost to produce seafood, reduces market gluts and
increasing dockside prices, extends fishing seasons,
reduces bycatch, and improves fisherman safety
- Ensures that less fish get captured which means
biodiversity of fish is intact for many organisms like
seals and sharks can use for energy
Works Cited
- http://www.futureoffish.org/resources/fish-101/catch-shares
- https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/insight/catch-shares
- http://therevolutionmovie.com/index.php/open-your-eyes/overfishing/solutions/
- https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/mpa.html
- https://www.geomar.de/en/research/human-impacts-on-marine-ecosystems/
- https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/freshwater-education-resourc
es/water-cycle
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_cycle
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_pump
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanic_carbon_cycle
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