Journeys & Transformations: British Columbia Landscapes

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NATURE

· Light and Life in the Ocean

FIRST PEOPLES

· Mowachaht-Muchalaht First Nations

HISTORY

· A Coastal Place

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FOCUS Vancouver Island’s West Coast - Coastal Waters

Light and Life in the Ocean

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Queen Charlotte Islands

The Pacific Ocean bathes the western edge of British Columbia. Queen Charlotte Islands. Robert Cannings.




		British Columbia sits on the eastern edge of the largest mass of water in the world, the Pacific Ocean, which is the primary force designing the tapestry of life in the province. The rich waters of the Pacific are the basis of a massive food chain, channelling energy from tiny plants through shrimp and fish and birds, onto the shore and into the rivers and mountains.


The water's edge, Rose Spit, Queen Charlotte Islands. Robert Cannings.

		Just as life on land stays close to the ground, bound by the need for nutrients and water tied up in the soil, so life in the oceans is concentrated near the surface of the water. Plants need three things to live: water, light and nutrients. Water is, of course, freely available in the sea, but light is found only near the surface. Water absorbs light at such a rate that below 40 metres it is too dim for plants to photosynthesize; below 600 metres it is as black as a moonless night. Plants, and the animals that eat them, must therefore live near the surface in the zone of light, called the photic zone.


Sponge reef with diver. RBCM.


Fish-eating sea anemone. RBCM.


Killer Whales are the top predators in the food chain of British Columbia's inshore marine waters. Richard Cannings.

Light and Life in the Ocean -


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