Oceans

An ocean is a big body of water. It is the biggest one on the Earth.

Oceans surround the land on the planet. There are 5 oceans in the world: Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic, Southern and Indian Oceans.

There is more water on the Earth’s surface than land.

Oceans were formed before the dinosaurs were alive when the planet was very hot and there was no sign of life.

Ocean water is not fresh water it is salty.

People have not explored all of the world’s oceans.

The largest ocean is the Pacific Ocean.

Oceans produce a large amount of the oxygen we breathe.

The deepest point in the ocean which we know about is called Mariana trench and is 11 km deep.

Oceans are full of life and amazing creatures.

They are home to whales, dolphins, sharks, crabs, lobsters, clown fish, corals, flying fish, octopus, oysters, squids, shrimps, starfish, jellyfish and so on and so forth.

Oceans are the largest habitat on earth.

JELLYFISH

STARFISH

SHRIMP

SQUID

OYSTER

OCTOPUS

FLYING FISH

CORALS

CLOWN FISH

LOBSTER

CRAB

SHARK

DOLPHIN

WHALE

habitat – the natural home of an animal or a plant

CORALS

   More than 70% of the surface of the Earth is covered in water. Almost all of this enormous body of water consists of oceans. They are home to a tremendous variety of species – from microscopic plankton to the largest marine animal – the blue whale. Corals are a very important part of the ocean life. Contrary to what a lot of people may think, corals are animals. Usually they live in colonies; an individual coral is called a polyp and is just a couple of centimeters in length. Corals have tentacles which help them capture their food. They also have one more very interesting way of getting energy – through symbiosis. Corals host in their tissue an one-cell alga called zooxanthellae. The algae get energy from the sunlight and pass it through to the corals. Corals provide the algae with nutrients and shelter in return. Zooxanthellae also give the corals a variety of beautiful colours.

   There are a lot of different coral species which explains the diversity of their colours and shapes.  Some of them are hard corals. They are also called reef builders and are able to secrete calcium carbonate. It forms a skeleton and the coral actually lives on its outside. Soft corals do not have this ability, as their name suggests. Usually corals thrive in warm shallow water, with temperature around 29°C. The easy access to sunlight gives plenty of energy to the zooxanthellae which gives the corals the opportunity to grow immensely. When a lot of coral skeletons grow together, they form a reef! There are fringing reefs, barrier reefs and attols. It is due to the fact that reefs provide a habitat for a great diversity of marine life that they are considered to be rainforests of the oceans. Probably the most famous one is the Great Barrier Reef. It is situated in the Coral Sea, along the coast of Queensland, Australia. It is so big that it can be seen form space! With its 2500 individual reefs and more than 900 islands, it is the largest living structure on the planet! Corals grow very slowly, just a couple of centimeters per year and to get to its present-day size, the Great Barrier Reef began forming as early as 20 million years ago! There are fossilized corals dating from 500 million years ago.

   Considered one of the 7 natural wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef is a very popular attraction. However, this impressive ecosystem is also a home to more than 1500 fish species, sea turtles and birds. Predators like dolphins and sharks hunt the smaller fish that live there. The range of biodiversity there is one of a kind.

   There is one immense threat to the reefs and that is global warming. The increasing ocean water temperature causes the zooxanthellae to die, which leads to discolouration of the hard skeleton of the corals, better known as bleaching.

GALLERY

ALGAE

ATTOL

BARRIER REEF

CORALS

CORALS

SOFT CORAL GARDEN

CORALS

CORALS

FRINGING REEF

ZOOXANTHELLAE

GLOSSARY

plankton – small plant or animal drifting on the surface of seas or lakes

alga, pl. algae – a red, brown or green plant-like organism that usually grow in water

symbiosis – the living together of two organisms, usually this relationship benefits both of them

tentacles – a narrow, flexible part of the body of an animal,such  as an octopus or jellyfish

calcium  carbonate – a chemical compound consisted of carbon, oxygen and calcium. It can be found in rocks and the shells of eggs, marine animals, snails

habitat – the natural home of an animal or a plant

AUSTRALIA – THE LAND DOWN UNDER

  Australia is a country consisted of the Australian continent and the island of Tasmania, together with some smaller islands. Australia is very big – it is the 6th largest country in the world! Its territory is bigger than the whole of Europe. It is often called ‘the land down under’ because it is situated south of the Equator – the Southern Hemisphere. Australia’s capital is Canberra, although the biggest city there is Sydney. A strange fact – Australians do not have their own official language – they use English as one!!!

  Just because Australia is so big – it is sometimes referred to as ‘the biggest island or the smallest continent’, it offers a variety of landscapes to its visitors. Very famous is the coastline, with beautiful beaches and a great diversity of sea life – whales, dolphins, sharks, enormous number of fish species, but also turtles and corals. A must-see is the Great Barrier Reef. That is the world’s largest coral reef, it is so enormous that it can be seen from space!!! Very well-known is also Ayers Rock. It is a giant rock formation – 348 m high, 3, 6 km long and it took millions of years for it to be formed. The biggest part of the territory of Australia is dry and desert-like and is called outback. There are almost no people who live there but it gives home to a lot of animals and different bird species. One of the most famous is the kangaroo. Kangaroos are marsupial which means that the mothers carry their babies in a pouch on their belly until they are ready to come out and take care of themselves. The other very popular animal in Australia is the koala. Those cute little bears love eating eucalypt leaves, sleep up to 20 hours a day and have become the symbol of Australia.

  One of the most important features of Australia is Sydney Opera House. It has a really strange shape, is situated in the Sydney Harbour and because of that is yet another famous tourist attraction of the country. And if you say tennis, you immediately think of Australian Open. It is one of the biggest tennis tournaments in the world and it is held in Melbourne.

GALLERY

AYRES ROCK

BARRIER REEF

CORALS

EUCALYPT

KANGAROO

KOALA BEAR

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

GLOSSARY

marsupial – a mammal typically carried in a pouch on the mother’s belly

pouch – a small flexible bag