Marine Biology Lab

Marine Biology Simulation: Ocean Life & Ecosystems

This marine biology simulation explores the diversity of life across ocean zones — from sun-lit photic zones teeming with phytoplankton to deep-sea hydrothermal vent communities sustained by chemosynthesis. Students investigate how marine food webs are structured, how pressure and temperature change with depth, and how coastal and open-ocean ecosystems differ in productivity and species composition. It is a free online resource that brings the world's largest biome into the classroom.

What you can do in this simulation

• Navigate ocean depth zones — epipelagic, mesopelagic, bathypelagic, and hadal — and discover resident species
• Explore phytoplankton as the foundation of marine food webs and their role in global carbon cycling
• Investigate deep-sea chemosynthetic ecosystems and how they differ from photosynthesis-based ones
• Track energy flow from primary producers through zooplankton, fish, and marine mammals
• Examine how temperature, salinity, and nutrient upwelling control marine productivity

Concepts covered

ocean zones · marine food webs · phytoplankton · chemosynthesis · marine ecosystems · ocean biodiversity

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