The organic world of the Atlantic Ocean: features and description

The organic world of the Atlantic Ocean depends on the temperature, salinity and other indicators that characterize the water area of this part of the MO. Conditions for the life of organisms vary considerably from north to south. Therefore, in the Atlantic there are areas rich in natural resources, and relatively poor areas, where the number of species of animals is estimated in tens, not hundreds.

The role of living organisms in the natural complex MO

The organic world of the Atlantic Ocean is experiencing a significant impact of the great extent of the water area from north to south. The diversity of animals and plants is affected by huge areas of the continental shelf, runoff from land and other factors of nature. The sea, the bottom and the surf are home to thousands of organisms that belong to different kingdoms of the Earth's nature. Plants and animals are the most important components of the natural complex. They experience the influence of climate, composition and properties of water, rocks that make up the bottom. In turn, the organic world of the Atlantic Ocean affects other components of nature:

• Algae enrich the water with oxygen;
• The respiration of plants and animals leads to an increase in the content of carbon dioxide;
• The skeletons of colonies of coelenterates form the basis of coral reefs and atolls;
• Living organisms absorb mineral salts from the water, reducing their number.

The organic world of the Atlantic Ocean (briefly)

The values of temperature and salinity are critical for microscopic living creatures that make plankton, as well as algae. These indicators are important for nekton - animals that freely float in the water column. Features of the relief of the shelf and the ocean floor determine the vital activity of benthic organisms. In this group there are many coelenterates and crustaceans. There are a number of specific features of the species composition that characterize the organic world of the Atlantic Ocean. The seabed below, provides an opportunity to see the diversity of benthos in the subtropical and tropical latitudes. Fish-rich water areas are confined to areas of intensive breeding of plankton in temperate and hot belts. In the same regions, there is a diversity of seabirds and mammals. High latitudes in the north and south are distinguished by the predominance of birds that feed on the surface of ice-free water, and nest colonies are built on the shore.

Phytoplankton

Single-celled algae form an important part of plankton. This group includes diatoms, blue-green, flagellates and other minute living organisms capable of photosynthesis. They inhabit a thickness of water up to 100 m deep, but the greatest density is observed in the first 50 m from its surface. Intensive solar radiation in the warm season leads to rapid development of phytoplankton - the "flowering" of water in the temperate and polar regions of the Atlantic Ocean.

Large plants

Photosynthetic green, red, brown algae and other representatives of the MO flora are an important part of the natural complex. Thanks to plants, oxygen for breathing and nutrients are provided to the entire organic world of the Atlantic Ocean. The list of bottom vegetation or phytobenthos includes not only algae, but also angiosperms, which have adapted to living in salt water, for example the genera Zoster, Posidonia. These "sea grasses" prefer soft sublittoral soils, form underwater depths at depths of 30 to 50 m.

Typical representatives of the continental shelf flora in the cold and temperate zones on either side of the equator are laminaria, red algae (crimson). They are attached to the bottom rocks, single stones. Marine vegetation in the hot belt is poorer due to high temperatures and significant insolation.
The economic importance of algae:

• Brown (kelp) - are used for food, serve for the production of iodine, potassium and algin;
• Red algae - raw materials for the food and pharmaceutical industries;
• Brown sargasso algae - the source of algin.

Zooplankton

Phytoplankton and bacteria are food for herbivorous microscopic animals. Free swimming in the water column, they make up zooplankton. It is based on the smallest representatives of crustaceans. Larger ones are united in meso- and macroplankton (ctenophores, siphonophores, jellyfish, cephalopods, shrimps and small fish).

Necton and benthos

There is a large group of living organisms in the ocean, able to withstand the pressure of water, freely move into its thickness. Such abilities are possessed by marine animals of medium and large size.

• Crustaceans. Relate to this subtype of shrimp, crabs and lobsters.
• Molluscs. Typical representatives of the group are scallops, mussels, oysters, squids and octopuses.
• Fish. The genera and families of this superclass are the most numerous - anchovies, sharks, flounder, sprat, salmon, sea bass, capelin, sea tongue, pollock, haddock, halibut, sardines, herring, mackerel, cod, tuna, hake.
• Reptiles. A few representatives are sea turtles.
• Birds. Gather food in the water penguins, albatrosses, petrels.
• Marine mammals. Highly organized animals - dolphins, whales, seals, seals.

The basis of benthos is made up of animals that lead an anchored lifestyle at the bottom, for example, coelenterates (coral polyps).

Features of plants and animals of the Atlantic

1. In the northern and southern part of the basin, there is a presence in the fauna of different species and genera.
2. There are few species of plankton, but the total mass reaches impressive values, especially in the temperate climatic zone. Diatom algae, foraminifera, pteropods and copepods (krill) predominate.
3. High bioproductivity - a sign that characterizes the features of the organic world of the Atlantic Ocean. It has a significant density of life in the shallows near the island of Newfoundland, the water area to the southwest and northwest of the coast of Africa, the marginal seas and the eastern shelf of the USA, South America.
4. The tropical zone, as noted above, is an unfavorable area for phytoplankton.
5. The productivity of the Atlantic Ocean nekton on the shelf and part of the continental slope is higher than in similar areas of neighboring oceans. Fish predominate, which feed on phyto- and zooplankton (anchovies, herrings, mackerel, horse mackerel and others). In the open waters of commercial importance are tuna.
6. Species richness of mammals is one of the features of the animal world of the Atlantic Ocean. In the past century, they were significantly exterminated, the number decreased.
7. Coral polyps are not as diverse as in the Pacific basin. Few sea snakes, turtles.

There are various factors explaining many of the listed features that characterize the organic world of the Atlantic Ocean. The conclusion from everything said above suggests the following: the reasons for the differences are due to the small width of the Atlantic in the hot belt, the expansion in the temperate and circumpolar regions. On the contrary, the Pacific and Indian oceans have the greatest extent in the tropical belt. Another factor that affected the relative poverty of the Atlantic by heat-loving animals is the influence of the last glaciation, which caused a considerable cooling in the Northern Hemisphere.

The Organic World of the Atlantic Ocean: Fishery Objects

Moderate and tropical latitudes in the Northern and Southern hemispheres are rich in life. Among the fish species of commercial importance are anchovies, pollock, tuna, cod, hake and others. Mammals are being harvested: whales and fur seals. Other types of biological resources are mollusks, crustaceans, brown and red algae. Plants of the ocean go for pet food and industrial processing. Most mollusks are delicacies, are appreciated in the cuisine of many countries (oysters, squids, octopuses, scallops). The same characteristic can be given to crustaceans, including lobsters, shrimps and crabs.

Fishing and seafood production are more intensive on the shelf and near the continental slopes. But in recent decades, areas of the water area that previously experienced less severe anthropogenic influence have been involved in economic circulation. Therefore, the environmental problems of not only the coastal areas but also the entire ocean are exacerbated.