The earth’s surface consists of about 75% of water and the oceans are known to hold about 96.5% of all earth’s water. Aquatic ecosystems are of two types:
Part of the deep sea includes the mid-water and the ocean floor. The rivers and coastal vegetation supply nutrients to the sea or ocean. The sea holds a lot of mysteries, some still yet undiscovered.
The many mysteries of the sea may not include those sea monsters envisioned in children’s fairytale stories, but it holds a lot of unanswered questions for the world seeing that Spongebob doesn’t actually exist, and the only sponges in the Sea don’t live in pineapples and can’t sing that theme song.
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The sea is a very large aquatic body housing millions of life ranging from the smallest (phytoplanktons), algae, to major sea animals. Researchers have been able to explore no more than 1 per cent of the life forms in the sea, due to its depth.
Marine animals as studied by scientist are said to possess greater body diversities than that of land animals. Their body structures require a broad description that is, into the various phyla-groups.
The total of different species in the sea is still unknown, only 250 000 species of aquatic life forms have been identified, out of the 400 000 estimated range. This estimated value may soon change once scientists get a better view of life on the ocean floor.
From the observation of mariners, marine organisms can seem odd. Some of these creatures glow in the dark, some are cartilaginous or bony. Some plants inhabiting saltwater have been observed to grow faster and die young. These distinctions occur as a result of the physical and chemical characteristics of the water body.
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Some sea animals live in a particular place they mark out as their territory and protect it from intruders, while others migrate seasonally from mid-ocean to the high seas. Below are some of the various life forms in the sea and their characteristics:
It is different from nekton, which is composed of strong swimming animals and also from the benthos, which includes creeping and burrowing organisms, sessile and others situated on the seafloor too. Some large floating seaweed (e.g. Sargasso…) are not considered as planktons but pleuston.
Pleustons are life forms that live in the interface of air and water. Phytoplankton’s are seasonal and vary in the region. The larger species are mostly found in the coastal region and certain equatorial areas where there is an abundance of nutrient enabling them to grow well. The smaller species called ‘’prochlorophytes’’ is found in the tropical and mid-ocean waters.
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Aside from the phytoplankton, large algae (keep, seed surf grasses) are also an inhabitant of the sea but dwell in the shallow-zone contributing little or nothing to the productivity of the ocean due to their location.
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So many more life forms exist in the seas with equally fascinating characteristics aside from the ones listed above. Life under the sea has a special hue to it, water absorbs light ray different from air. In the sea, the shorter wavelength of light ray (blue and green in colour) penetrate deeper than longer wavelengths (red and yellow in colour).
This makes it possible to see the water light blue hue 10 meters into the ocean, but ongoing deeper it appears darker than night. Planktons deep in the sea that do not receive sunlight and therefore do not experience photosynthesis depend highly on the photosynthetic activities that occur on the water surface.
The ocean does not contain so much plant life due to the lack of nutrients in the ocean to that compared on land. Aquatic life in the sea all exist in the food chain, ranging from the planktons to the larger animals at the top of the food chain.
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Life in the sea is uncountable; the algae, planktons, small fishes, large sea monster( whales, sharks, dolphins..), those that dwell on the seashore (e.g. snail, slams, sand polar, etc.), the hidden ones living in the deepest and darkest part of the seas, all of which are of different species with fascinating characteristics.
The many mysteries and wonders of life that exist deep in the ocean are still left uncovered till date. But with the help of science, researchers and I to tell their story, all these mysteries will be uncovered.
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