Marine Biome - Marine Biology

The marine biome is the largest biome on the earth, with a wide diversity of plants and animals. Read more about the marine biology of this unique and vast habitat.
Covering about 70 percent of the earth, the marine biome is the largest biome on the planet. It comprises of the Antarctic Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean, plus smaller Bays and Gulfs. Also, the marine biome consists of 80 percent of all the earths habitats, making it the largest habitat on our planet. The 36,200 feet deep Mariana Trench, which is deeper than the height of Mt. Everest, is the deepest point of the marine biome. The marine biome can also be divided into oceans, estuaries, and coral reefs, with the oceans representing the most diverse and largest of ecosystems. The water of the oceans evaporates and turns into rain, which nourishes the land where it falls. The Various Zones of the Marine Biome The Inter-Tidal Zone: The oceans are connected to the land through the inter-tidal zone. The coastal areas of the marine biome are in a constant state of change due to the rise and fall of the tides, with a variety of marine plants and animals inhabiting the seashore and the bottom. Coastal areas that are rocky have fewer species of animals and plants since only the highest of tides can reach the top of the steep rocks. Coral reefs form barriers in the shallow, warm waters of the marine biome, which border the continents and the islands. Coral is an organism that consists of algae and animal tissues. They can provide themselves with nutrition like plants via photosynthesis as well as like animals by catching micro-organisms with their tentacles. Other species of the marine biome also inhabit the coral reefs, such as octopi, starfish, and various other mollusks. The Pelagic and Benthic Zones: The pelagic zone is located in the open ocean. This area of the marine biome is home to several species of marine mammals and fish, some types of floating seaweed, and plankton. The region beneath the pelagic zone is known as the benthic zone, or the deep sea. This consists of gradually decomposing organisms, sand and silt. Since very little sunlight reaches this region of the marine biome, because of its depth, it is very cold. Also, at this depth there are very few plant species, and the marine animals here are generally organisms that feed at the bottom such as sponges, anemones, starfish, and so on, along with different micro-organisms. The Abyssal Zone: The deepest region of the marine biome, going down to a depth of 2000 meters or more, is known as the abyssal zone. It is home to various species of fish and invertebrates, including peculiar creatures like the coelacanth, which is a prehistoric kind of fish that was thought to be extinct, but was found in the Indian Ocean. Then there are other specially adapted fish that also inhabit this dark part of the marine biome which glow due to a process known as photoluminescence. The abyssal zone of the marine biome is highly

pressurized and also extremely cold, since no sunlight reaches here. The floor of the ocean here have vents which form due to the tectonic plates spreading apart, which results in releasing hydrogen sulfide and various other minerals, which the bacteria that exist here feed upon, which are then eaten by various other micro-organisms, which in turn become the food of the fish, and so forth. The Plants of the Marine Biome More than a million species of animals and plants have been discovered in the marine biome, and according to marine biologists, there are up to 9 million species that have still to be discovered, which inhabit this unique habitat. One of the main reasons the marine biome is very important is due to the algae that exist in it. Algae in the oceans generate the major portion of the oxygen in the earths atmosphere. Algae also absorb huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Due to this, it may play a major role in reducing the harmful effects of climate change. Phytoplankton is another important plant in the marine biome. These are largely unicellular algae that most marine creatures feed on, from large whales to the tiniest of fish. According to scientists, phytoplankton is responsible for about half of the oxygen in the earths atmosphere. Kelp is another kind of marine plant that is very important. It provides food and shelter to many kinds of creatures that inhabit the marine biome. Humans use kelp to make various kinds of products ranging from ice cream to cosmetics to toothpaste. Kelp also helps in buffering the coastal areas by absorbing the energy of the waves before they hit the shoreline. The plants in the marine biome exist in the euphotic zone, the region that gets sunlight, since they require the suns energy for photosynthesis. The Animals of the Marine Biome The marine biome is home to the greatest biodiversity of the earth. This region has sea anemones, fungi, bacteria, crustaceans, whales, fish, mollusks and various other types of animals. Many of these animals are specially adapted to the various conditions that exist in this environment. For example, marine mammals generally have blubber in order to withstand the extremely cold temperatures of the water, however, the sea otter deals with this condition by having dense fur instead, with about a million hairs in each square inch. The marine biome is also home to some of the largest creatures on earth, like the blue whale, which can be more than 100 feet in length. These are some of the reasons why marine biology is so fascinating and is being studied with increasing interest by scientists