Ocean Zones

Ocean Zones

Written by Kristin Constant

Ocean Zones is a non-fiction book that was written to give you information.

Here is a few quick tips to keep in mind as you are reading.

Tip #1: All of the words that are in BOLD are vocabulary words that you can learn while reading. If you don't know what the BOLD word means, you can click on it to find out!

Tip #2: All of the words that are underlined are words that have a picture along with them. If you are confused or curious, click on the underlined word to see a picture that might help you understand or find out more.

Tip #3: At the bottom of the page, you will find a Penguin named Pedro and a Robot named Bot. These are your reading coaches! Click on them so they can ask you questions, give you things to think about, or special tips for reading.

Happy Reading!

Created with CAST's UDL Book Builder

Table of Contents

Ocean Facts ....................................................................Page 3

Ocean Zones ...................................................................Page 4

The Sunlit Zone .................................................................Page 6

The Twilight Zone .............................................................Page 9

The Midnight Zone ..........................................................Page 11

Created with CAST's UDL Book Builder

Ocean Facts

Did you know that the ocean covers most of the

Earth's surface ? That is a lot of water! Not only is the ocean

large, but it is about 12,460 feet deep. That means it would

take ten Empire State Buildings stacked on top of

one another to make it from the bottom of the ocean to the

water's surface !

As the ocean gets deeper the water gets colder.

Created with CAST's UDL Book Builder

Ocean Zones

The sunlight can't reach all the way down to the

bottom of the ocean because the water is so deep. The

different amounts of sunlight causes many changes in the

ocean water such as the amount of oxygen for animals and

plants to breathe and use, the way the water moves, and

the temperature. As a result, scientists have split the ocean

into three different zones : the Sunlit Zone , the Twilight Zone ,

and the Midnight Zone.

Created with CAST's UDL Book Builder

In all of that water lives over a million kinds of marine

plants and animals. There may be millions more that

scientists have not even discovered yet!

As the ocean zone changes, so do the plants and

animals that live there. The reason for this is that over millions

of years animals and plants have adapted to meet their

survival needs in that special part of the ocean.

Let's find out more about these different zones

and the amazing organisms that live there!

Created with CAST's UDL Book Builder

When you go swimming at the beach, you are swimming through the Sunlit Zone.

The Sunlit Zone

The top zone of

the ocean is called

the Sunlit Zone . This

zone gets its name

from the large amount

of sunlight that travels

through the water.

Here, the water is warmest and brightest in the ocean.

Most of the animals and plants that live in the ocean call

the Sunlit Zone their home.

Created with CAST's UDL Book Builder

The plants that live in this zone are algae, sea grass,

and seaweed. These plants use the sunlight to make their

own food. Tiny organisms called plankton also use the

sunlight to make their food. These plankton become food for

smaller animals such as krill (a kind of shrimp) and other small

fish.

Phytoplankton can sometimes make ocean water look green, rather than blue.

Created with CAST's UDL Book Builder

Sea turtles and clown fish spend their time swimming in the warm water of the Sunlit Zone.

Many ocean animals also live in the Sunlit Zone like

fish, clams, lobsters, crabs, sea turtles, whales, and sharks.

These animals are able to use the sunlight to hunt the huge

amounts of fish and plankton that live here.

Created with CAST's UDL Book Builder

The Twilight Zone

The next layer of the ocean is called the Twilight

Zone. In this zone the water becomes darker, heavier, and

colder. There is only a small amount of sunlight in this zone,

so there are no plants that live here. The plants can't survive

because they are unable make their own food without

sunlight. Large sperm whales and fish often dive into this

zone to follow prey or to find more food, but they do not

stay.

Sunlight in The Twilight Zone is dim and the water is much cooler.

Created with CAST's UDL Book Builder

The viper fish got its name because its teeth look like they belong to a type of snake called a viper.

Some animals

that you may have

heard of live in the

Twilight Zone. Jellyfish,

octopus, and squid all

call this zone their

home. However, there

are also many other interesting animals that live here.

These strange animals have bodies that are adapted

to this dark and cold habitat.

One example is the lantern fish, which has large

eyes to help it see in the darkness of the Twilight Zone.

Another is the viper fish , which has a giant mouth that it

leaves open for prey to accidentally to swim into.

Created with CAST's UDL Book Builder

The Midnight Zone

The deepest ocean zone is called the Midnight Zone

because it has no sunlight at all. Here, the water is very cold

and it is completely dark. Some of the animals that live in this

zone do not even have eyes because there is no light to see

by!

Many of the animals in this zone can create their

own light, much like a glow stick. They use this light to talk to

one another, to find friends, and to get food. Some

examples of fish that create light to catch prey are the

angler fish and the hatchet fish .

The hatchet fish can glow in dark by making it's own light!

Created with CAST's UDL Book Builder

The ocean is a very large, beautiful, and interesting

place, with many different animals and plants.

All marine organisms have bodies that are adapted to

help them survive in either the Sunlit Zone, Twilight Zone ,

or Midnight Zone.

Created with CAST's UDL Book Builder

Glossary

Adapted: To change a behavior or body part, over millions of years, so that it is easier to live in a special place or situation.

Habitat: The place or type of place where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives or grows.

Marine: Of or relating to the sea or plants and animals that live in the sea.

Midnight Zone: The deepest zone of the ocean which reaches down from 3,280 feet to 13,123 feet. This zone recieves no sunlight and is home to a very small number of animals.

Organism: A living thing, such as a plant or an animal.

Prey: An animal that is huunted or killed by another animal for food.

Sunlit Zone: The top zone of the ocean which reaches from the surface of the water down to 656 feet. This zone is home to most of the animals and plants in the ocean.

Surface: The upper layer, or top, of an area of land or water.

Survival Needs: The basic things that an animal or plant needs to live. Animals need air, water, food, and shelter to survive. While plants need air, water, nutrients, and light in order to make their own food and live.

Twilight Zone: The middle zone layer of the ocean which reaches down from 656 feet to 3,280 feet. This zone has very little sunlight, no plants, and few animals.

Zone: A special place that is different from the other places around it.

Created with CAST's UDL Book Builder

Index

Adapted: Pages 6, 11, and 13

Algae: Page 8

Angler Fish: Page 12

Habitat: Page 11

Hatchet Fish: Page 12

Lantern Fish: Page 11

Marine: Pages 6 and 13

Midnight Zone: Pages 5, 12, and 13

Organism: Pages 6, 8, and 13