Marine environments are made up of a great diversity of ecosystems responsible for the different types of landscapes on the coasts.
These ecosystems can be classified by two criteria: light gradation and stratification of water column levels.
Regarding light gradation, they are divided into:
Euphotic zone: region where the light incidence penetrates the water column, generally around 200 meters deep, according to the tone of the water as a result of the saturation of suspended particles (turbidity). This is the range considered to have the highest concentration of organisms, such as photosynthetic (autotrophic) microorganisms.
Aphotic zone: region that does not receive any interference from light incidence. Organisms (heterotrophs) generally inhabit this range and depend on the availability of oxygen and absorbed organic matter, respectively dissolved and percolated (decanted) from the euphotic zone.
Regarding the stratification of water column levels, they are divided into:
Coastal zone: existing limit between the level of tides (high and low).
Neritic zone: region that reaches approximately 200 meters in depth, generally around 50 to 60 km from the coastline. It is the limit with the highest biomass and aquatic productivity, housing a large number of organisms.
Abbatial zone: Located below the neritic zone, it is located between 200 and 2000 meters deep.
Abyssal zone: it is the deepest, located between 2000 meters deep and the oceanic substrate, being a region completely without light (aphotic), where there are few forms of life.
