Exploring the Diverse Marine Life and Resources in the Ocean Ecosystem

Abstract

Analyzing marine organisms and their interactions with the ocean environment Introduction The ocean provides significant habitation for both living and non-living things, all of which impact the waters. The ocean offers the largest ecosystem in the world, and only a tiny percentage has been explored. This means that if more attention and resources were pulled into the oceans' research, the discoveries would be tremendous. Many people know just a bit about the oceans like for instance, its saline nature, corals in the waters, living organisms like the fish, and the waves' action. But there is more concerning the lives in the aquatic. There are many characteristics of both the biotic and abiotic that constitute the ocean. Besides just habitation, the inhabitants interact and depend on each other and dependence on the non-living things in the ocean. There are different ocean elements like oils, natural gases, and other valuable minerals that contribute directly or indirectly to these waters' lives. There are variations in the marine environment's characteristics that tend to create variations in the habitat, which further influences the types of organisms that habituate in a particular region at a specific time. Understanding the oceans would be vital to understand marine organisms' distribution since it is apparent that they are not evenly distributed throughout the ocean. The living resources in the oceans The living resources in the oceans are vast, and they need to be used and managed sustainably. Among these resources are fish, of which, due to overfishing, some have been on the verge of extinction. Fishing methods like bottom trawling involve towing weighted net across the seafloor to harvest fish. It has been banned in many countries for sustainability. Temperature variations facilitate the different types of living organisms in the oceans at different places. For instance, it is hottest at the equator and freezing in the Polar Regions. In these different habitations, the living organisms are different depending on their inbuilt adaptations. In other words, the temperature gradient is the primary factor affecting habitation in the oceans in that different types of fish are in different parts of the ocean, not forgetting the mammals, invertebrates, and other organisms (Bindoff et al., 2019). Non-living resources in the oceans In the oceans, there are non-living organisms which include oils and natural gases. The non-living things in the oceans are usually extracted through drilling into the seafloor. Besides the oils and gases, the ocean floor contains some valuable minerals like manganese, iron, copper, nickel, phosphate, and cobalt, all present in different shapes and sizes. These minerals have numerous uses in the industrial sector. Types of ocean organisms Organisms have adapted to the oceans' environment, considering that these conditions change as they cover and uncover the regions. The waves from the waters usually pound on rocks and set variations in the pressure among the waters. In these waters exists the smallest and largest animals on earth, which includes those that breathe air or extract oxygen from these waters. Others float on the surface of the waters, whereas others are deep on the ocean floor. There are prey and predators in the oceans and plants as well. In these waters are other creatures that break down chemicals to make their food. In the waters are the planktons, zooplankton, fishes, plants and algae, reptiles, marine mammals, and seabirds. Characteristics of biotic and abiotic factors in the ocean ecosystem Biotic is a term used to describe life in the oceans. Life in the oceans is diverse, which entails from the deepest depths to the oceans' coldest corners. The earth's organisms' influential groups are represented in the oceans or rely on it directly or indirectly. The animals live in the oceans interactively, living together or acting as prey or predators. On the other hand, abiotic factors are that which the living and non-living and also the environment. The animals all coexist in a web of interactions. The organism is affected by various other factors like the surroundings or relies on other organisms and the surrounding coexisting at that particular place. In a genuine sense, the animals' interactions amongst themselves and their surroundings keep the ecosystem functioning. Therefore, coexistence is an essential factor because if any of the parties are removed from the ecosystem, a vacuum is created, forcing the ecosystem to change or shift and be disastrous. After all, the chances of the ecosystem collapsing are very high (Stoll-Kleemann, 2019). Patterns of interaction and interdependence among components of the ocean ecosystem Further, if the ocean's abiotic factors begin to change, it reflects a decline in the ecosystem. Factors that may affect the same could include temperature changes, pH levels, and the oceans' salinity. A good observation made is the relationship between the corals and the acidic levels in the ocean. When acidity in the oceans rises, it leads to changes in pH levels. Once this happens, it affects the sheath of the shells of animals and the corals' skeletal structures. In such instances, the shells of the animals are usually formed by calcium carbonate, and therefore, the thickness becomes compromised (Bindoff et al., 2019). Additionally, the already formed calcium carbonate starts to dissolve, while the corals' skeleton structures begin to weaken, which further leads to the collapse of the corals. Once the corals collapse, the ecosystem is changed in that there are millions of animal species for which the coral reefs create habitat. On the other hand, food for the ocean organisms is generated from the plants around and within the oceans. The need for food generates competition for populations with similar requirements. The requirements that could bring about competition could be food, water, oxygen, and other resources, and competition could come about because of insufficiency (Bindoff et al., 2019). In the real sense, the growth of organisms is determined by the availability and accessibility of the required resources. On the other hand, the number of organisms may be reduced by many predators in a particular setup. In such instances, a whole population of a particular species may be eliminated. In contrast, some organisms have mutually beneficial interactions whereby that of the other determines one's survival. Energy cycle through the living and the non-living in the ocean As far as the energy cycles are concerned, the ocean is crucial in providing food, oxygen and very vital in the universe. For ecosystem provisions, it is therefore essential to ensure that the oceans are well protected and preserved. In the ocean, matter cycles between the air, soil, and plants, animals, and microbes. All this cycle takes place while the organism is alive and also in death. In most instances, organisms obtain gases and water from the environment and, in return, give waste matter back to the environment in the form of gases, liquid, and solid matter. There exists a cycle in which matter is transferred in and out of the physical environments (Stoll-Kleemann, 2019). In this instance, the atoms constituting the organisms in the ecosystem are cycled repeatedly in a cycle consisting of the living, the non-living, and some parts of the ecosystem. Characteristics that affect the aquatic life The study done was based on the behaviors that affect marine life; a total of 102 peer-reviewed ac academic journals were studied, and results tabulated on the same. It was determined that several factors affect aquatic life either positively or negatively. Variations in the chemical composition contribute to life in the ocean (Stoll-Kleemann, 2019). The chemical balances are characterized by the saline and the carbon dioxide levels, whereby the two have to be optimum. High levels or low levels could have different effects on the lives in the ocean. For instance, an increase in the ocean's carbon dioxide levels lowers the pH of the water balance, hence more acidity (Bindoff et al., 2019). High acidity could be detrimental to the ocean's living and non-living things. On the other hand, an increase in salinity in the waters could be harmful to some species that are not tolerant to high saline levels (Bindoff et al., 2019). Ocean currents act as transporters of microorganisms and, at the same time, aid...