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benthic division
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Diagram showing ocean zonation by depth and region, with labeled layers: littoral, sublittoral, bathyal, abyssal, and hadal along the seafloor, and epipelagic, mesopelagic, bathypelagic, and abyssalpelagic in open water. The littoral zone is at the high-tide mark. Vertical scale marks photic and aphotic zones from surface to 10,000 meters.
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benthic division

oceanography
Also known as: benthic environment, benthic zone, bottom environment(Show More)
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Diagram showing ocean zonation by depth and region, with labeled layers: littoral, sublittoral, bathyal, abyssal, and hadal along the seafloor, and epipelagic, mesopelagic, bathypelagic, and abyssalpelagic in open water. The littoral zone is at the high-tide mark. Vertical scale marks photic and aphotic zones from surface to 10,000 meters.
Zonation of the ocean. The open ocean, the pelagic zone, includes all marine waters throughout the globe beyond the continental shelf, as well as the benthic, or bottom, environment on the ocean floor. Nutrient concentrations are low in most areas of the open ocean, and as a result this great expanse of water contains only a small percentage of all marine organisms. Far below the surface in the midocean ridges of the abyssal zone, deep-sea hydrothermal vents supporting an unusual assemblage of organisms—including chemoautotrophic bacteria—occur.

The benthic division refers to the ecological realm at the bottom of a body of water, encompassing the seafloor and the organisms that inhabit it. This includes both epifauna living on the surface and infauna living within the sediments. The benthic environment is divided into several zones based on depth, including the littoral zone (near the shore, affected by tides), the sublittoral zone (extending to the continental shelf), the bathyal zone (from the continental shelf edge down to about 2,000 meters), the abyssal zone (4,000-6,000 meters), and the hadal zone (deep-sea trenches). Organisms in the benthic division are influenced by factors like light availability, water temperature, salinity, substrate type, and food sources, which primarily come from plankton and organic debris falling from the pelagic zone above. Hydrostatic pressure increases significantly with depth, affecting organisms in the deeper benthic zones.123456

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7 Britannica Sources
  1. marine ecosystem - Geography, oceanography, and topography
  2. benthos
  3. littoral zone
  4. bathyal zone
  5. marine ecosystem - Links between the pelagic environments and the benthos
  6. biosphere - Hydrostatic pressure
  7. growth - Pressure

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