Mysterious and unexplored life in the ocean

People have long been accustomed to the existence of a diverse animal and plant world on land. And what do we know about life in the ocean? How varied is it? Who, besides commercial fish, can be found in its waters? Let's look for answers to these questions together.

Amazing diversity

Life in the ocean is amazing and diverse. Scientists are sure that life began its development in the waters of the World Ocean. This can be explained by the fact that here there are more than 150 thousand different species of representatives of the animal and plant world. If you try to calculate the total weight of all life forms of ocean waters, then the figure will be huge - in fact it is 60 billion tons. The ocean as a habitat is suitable for all types of organic world. Here there are both protozoa and huge mammals. Of the vast diversity of wildlife in the waters of the ocean, only spiders, millipedes and amphibian animals did not take root.

Differences in the water and air environment

To argue with the fact that the air and water habitat differ in physical properties, it is futile. In the aquatic environment, the temperatures are otherwise distributed, in accordance with the depth, the water pressure increases. And still the presence of sunlight is observed only in the upper layers. These features of life in the ocean affect the existence and development of all life.

So, due to the fact that water is able to support organisms in a certain position, they do not need the formation of particularly strong skeletons or roots. Therefore life in the ocean is represented by the largest in nature mammal, which is called the blue whale. This animal is 25 times heavier than the largest inhabitant of land - an elephant.

Well, since ocean algae do not have to resist the air element, they do not need to grow a powerful root system, but they can stretch for several tens of meters.

What is benthos?

This incomprehensible word determines the totality of living beings that inhabit the ocean floor and in it. At the bottom of the ocean there are two varieties of life: zoobenthos and phytobenthos. Representatives zoobenthos, that is, the animal world, significantly more, and as they approach the shores of continents and islands, their number increases in shallow water.

Zoobenthos are crustaceans, mollusks, large and small fish. Phytobenthos includes various bacteria and algae.

What is plankton?

What life in the ocean without plankton? These are special living organisms that are not tied to the bottom, but are also not actively moving. In fact, all movements of plankton occur due to currents. The upper layers of the water, into which sunlight enters, colonize the phytoplankton. It consists of a different kind of algae. But zooplankton lives in the entire thickness of the water.

Most of the animal plankton are crustaceans and protozoa. These are various infusoria, radiolarians and other representatives. In addition, there are coelenterates: siphonophores, jellyfish, ctenophores and small fossil mussels.

Thanks to a huge amount of plankton, fish and aquatic animals are always provided with plentiful food.

What is nekton?

The term "nekton" is not very common, but it means forms of life that we are well aware of. Necton - organisms that can actively move in water. These are turtles, pinnipeds, and cetaceans. To nekton also include all species of fish, squid, penguins and water snakes.

Zone division

Life in the ocean is interesting in that it creates unequal conditions for the inhabitants of different depths. So, the shoal near the coast is called the littoral zone. Here, water waves, tides and ebbs are common phenomena. This caused living organisms to adapt to the daily change in water and air. In addition, these organisms are constantly affected by temperature fluctuations, changes in salinity of the environment and surf. To survive in these conditions, the mollusks are firmly fixed on the rocks, the crabs are held clinging claws, the fish have acquired special suckers. A shrimp and starfish learned to dig in the ground.

The next zone is bathyal. It begins at a depth of 200 m, and ends at a depth of 2000 m. The bathyal zone is located within the continental slopes. The vegetable world of this zone is very poor, because the sun's rays do not fall to such a depth. But here lives a lot of fish.

Further, the habitat zone is called the abyssal zone. It is located at a depth of more than two kilometers. There is little water and a stably low temperature. The salinity of the ocean at this depth can reach 34.7%, there is no light at all. Vegetation in this zone is represented by species of bacteria and algae. And the animal world of the ocean depths is very unusual. Bodies of animals are tender and fragile. Many species have acquired long appendages to rely on a viscous primer and have the ability to move around. Some living organisms have huge eyes, but others do not. Many species of deep-sea fish are flat, some organisms are able to glow.

The deep-water plant and animal world has not been fully studied so far, since descent to great depths is difficult not only for humans, but also for research instruments. Studies were widely spread using self-propelled bathyscaphes. But the life of the littoral and bathyal zones is being actively studied.

The riches of the World Ocean give mankind a huge food source. And most importantly, this source of nutrition is saturated with vitamins and easily digestible protein. Representatives of not only the animal, but also the plant world are suitable for food. The main thing is that a person does not consider this source inexhaustible and has learned to treat it carefully and economically.