The Big Blue
When we think of ocean habitats we might think of those closer to land, like sandy shores, kelp forests and coral reefs, but the open ocean is home to many of our marine animals. The open ocean is the water that stretches out past the continental shelf. Some species will spend their life between this habitat and those around the coast, whereas others may spend their whole life out in the big blue.
Whales
Whales are open ocean animals, they feed, mate, and give birth to their young out at sea. Whales are found in every ocean on the planet, from the warm waters around the equator all the way to the poles. Whales often travel huge distances across the big blue between their mating grounds and their feeding grounds, we call this movement: migration.
Sharks
There are many species of shark who spend most or all their life in the open ocean. For example, the oceanic whitetip. This species spends most of their time at the top layer of the water feeding on bony fish and cephalopods. We also have species like the pelagic thresher sharks, recognisable by their long tail that they use to “whip” prey.
Seabirds
True seabirds can spend their entire lives at sea. When seabirds aren’t roosting or breeding, we can find them out in the open ocean. They can drink sea water as they are able to filter out the salt. Albatross and other species may spend years away from the land when they first fledge.
Fish
Only a few species of fish are true residents of the open ocean, such as tuna, billfish, flying fish, sauries, pilotfish, remoras, dolphinfish, and ocean sunfish. Blue fin tuna is probably the most famous, these huge fish can swim thousands of miles as they migrate across the ocean.
Jellyfish
Lots of jellyfish species will spend their life floating and swimming around in the open ocean. They rely on their tentacles to paralyse and catch their prey. The longest of all jellyfish spends its time out in the blue, lions mane jellyfish can grow to over 30 meters long, with the largest normally being found in Arctic waters.
We hope you enjoyed reading about life out in the open ocean. Do you have a mini marine biologist ready to start their ocean exploring journey?
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