In its simplest form, biodiversity or biological diversity is therefore ‘Life on Earth’ and includes marine biodiversity ‘Life in the Seas and Oceans. ` The marine environment has a very high biodiversity because 32 out of the 33 described animal phyla are represented in there.
How diverse is the ocean?
The world’s oceans contain somewhere between 500,000 and 10 million marine species. bacteria, other microbes and viruses. Much of the biodiversity in the ocean, particularly in the deep sea and in the microbial ocean, is unknown, and up to 2,000 new species are described per year.
Is marine life diverse?
The ocean is amazingly diverse. Life in the ocean ranges from the smallest microscopic bacteria and viruses to the largest animal ever to have lived on Earth—the blue whale. Biodiversity refers to variation among living things within an ecosystem. This includes variation in plants, animals, fungi, and micro organisms.
What is the most diverse marine ecosystem?
The variety of species living on a coral reef is greater than in any other shallow-water marine ecosystem, making reefs one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet.
Does the ocean have a high biodiversity?
The ecosystems that are marine, or made up of saltwater, include coral reefs and the intertidal zone, which are both highly diverse, as well as the open ocean, which has a fairly low biodiversity. Ecosystems that are based upon freshwater, such as lakes and rivers, also have high biodiversity.
What is diversity in marine?
Marine biodiversity is an aggregation of highly inter-connected ecosystem components or features, encompassing all levels of biological organization from genes, species, populations to ecosystems, with the diversity of each level having structural and functional attributes (Table 1).
Why is the sea diverse and dynamic?
He suggested that because the deep sea is monotonous and predictable (i.e., it is stable), populations have the evolutionary time to become newly specialized in how they feed. Over time, these populations become so specialized they evolve into totally new species, eventually driving diversity up.
Why is marine diversity so high?
` The marine environment has a very high biodiversity because 32 out of the 33 described animal phyla are represented in there. … Biodiversity includes four main components: Genetic diversity refers to the genetic variation that occurs among members of the same species.
What are two reasons why marine animals are more diverse than terrestrial ones?
Organisms living in the terrestrial ecosystems are influenced far more by gravity, while water supports marine organisms. Locomotion for terrestrial organisms requires much more energy than do marine organisms just to escape from risks of predation.
Which best explains how the ocean is the most diverse ecosystem?
Which best explains how the ocean is the most diverse ecosystem? It receives nutrients from land carried by rivers and upwelling. It receives an abundant source of salt from melting glaciers. There is a large population of decomposers.
Why are marine animals more diverse?
Upending an evolutionary theory proposed in the 1950s, scientists have found that the groups most resistant to extinction also contain the greatest ecological diversity – their members perform a larger number of different functions in ecosystems.
What are the characteristics of marine ecosystem?
A marine ecosystem is the interaction of the community of marine organisms and their environment. Marine ecosystems are characterized by factors such as availability of light, food and nutrients. Other factors that affect marine ecosystems include water temperature, depth and salinity, as well as local topography.
Why marine ecosystem is important?
Healthy marine ecosystems are important for society since they provide services including food security, feed for livestock , raw materials for medicines, building materials from coral rock and sand, and natural defenses against hazards such as coastal erosion and inundation.
How does climate change affect marine biodiversity?
Climate change due to human activity has a direct impact on marine species. It alters their abundance, diversity and distribution. Their feeding, development and breeding, as well as the relationships between species are affected. Rising temperatures lead to different behaviour patterns according to species.
How might ocean acidification influence species diversity in the ocean?
The findings reveal that the ocean area with highest levels of acidity accounted for the least number of species and also the lowest amount of “functional diversity”. It says that acidification displaced long-lived species, such as corals, that form habitat for other species.
What is ecosystem diversity examples?
Ecosystem diversity deals with the variations in ecosystems within a geographical location and its overall impact on human existence and the environment. … An example of ecological diversity on a global scale would be the variation in ecosystems, such as deserts, forests, grasslands, wetlands and oceans.