pelagic

[puh-laj-ik]

adjective

1. of or relating to the open seas or oceans.

2. living or growing at or near the surface of the ocean, far from land, as certain organisms.

pelagic

/ pɛˈlædʒɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to the open sea

   pelagic whaling

2. (of marine life) living or occurring in the upper waters of open sea

3. (of geological formations) derived from material that has fallen to the bottom from the upper waters of the sea

pelagic

1. Relating to or living in or on oceanic waters. The pelagic zone of the ocean begins at the low tide mark and includes the entire oceanic water column. The pelagic ecosystem is largely dependent on the phytoplankton inhabiting the upper, sunlit regions, where most ocean organisms live. Biodiversity decreases sharply in the unlit zones where water pressure is high, temperatures are cold, and food sources scarce. Pelagic waters are divided, in descending order, into the epipelagic, mesopelagic, bathypelagic, abyssopelagic, and hadopelagic zones.

Other Word Forms

• nonpelagic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pelagic¹

1650–60; < Latin pelagicus < Greek pelagikós, equivalent to pélag ( os ) the sea + -ikos -ic

Word History and Origins

Origin of pelagic¹

C17: from Latin pelagicus, from pelagus, from Greek pelagos sea

Example Sentences

The scientists said deep divers, such as sperm whales, and pelagic dolphins showed a steadier increase in strandings since the 1990s.

From BBC

J. janthina are a pelagic snail species, meaning they spend their lives at the surface of the ocean as opposed to in tide pools or along the ocean shore.

From Los Angeles Times

Now the scientists — who were researching pelagic sharks at the country’s Canary Islands — are going to study the anglerfish’s body, hoping to learn more about its uncharacteristic behavior.

From Salon

"Higher swells, sea surface temperatures are much warmer and they're having difficulty getting flying fish now at the beginning of our pelagic season."

From BBC

They then employed Bayesian models to reconstruct ancestral habitats, revealing that ceratioids originated from benthic ancestors before transitioning to the pelagic zone.

From Science Daily