The marine environment supplies many kinds of habitats that support marine life. Marine life depends in some way on the saltwaterthat is in the sea (the term marine comes from the Latin mare, meaning sea or ocean). A habitat is an ecological or environmentalarea inhabited by one or more living species. Marine habitats can be divided into coastal and open ocean habitats. Coastal habitats are found in the area that extends from as far as the tide comes in on the shoreline out to the edge of the continental shelf. Most marine life is found in coastal habitats, even though the shelf area occupies only seven percent of the total ocean area. Open ocean habitats are found in the deep ocean beyond the edge of the continental shelf.
In contrast to terrestrial habitats, marine habitats are shifting and ephemeral. Swimming organisms find areas by the edge of a continental shelf a good habitat, but only while upwelling bring nutrient rich water to the surface. Shellfish find habitat on sandy beaches, but storms, tides and currents mean their habitat continually reinvents itself.
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