Marine life - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
WEBMay 26, 2021 · Our ocean, coasts, and estuaries are home to diverse living things. These organisms take many forms, from the tiniest single-celled plankton to the largest animal on Earth, the blue whale. Understanding the life cycles, habits, habitats, and inter-relationships of marine life contributes to our understanding of the planet as a whole.
Marine Ecosystems - National Geographic Society
WEBAug 29, 2024 · Marine ecosystems are aquatic environments with high levels of dissolved salt. These include the open ocean, the deep-sea ocean, and coastal marine ecosystems, each of which has different physical and biological characteristics.
Coral reef ecosystems - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
WEBFeb 1, 2019 · Coral reefs are some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. Coral polyps, the animals primarily responsible for building reefs, can take many forms: large reef building colonies, graceful flowing fans, and even small, solitary organisms.
Coral Reefs and Corals - Smithsonian Ocean
WEBCoral reefs are the most diverse of all marine ecosystems. They teem with life, with perhaps one-quarter of all ocean species depending on reefs for food and shelter. This is a remarkable statistic when you consider that reefs cover just a tiny fraction (less than one percent) of the earth’s surface and less than two percent of the ocean bottom.
The Census of Marine Life - Smithsonian Ocean
WEBThe Arctic Ocean Diversity (ArcOD) project and the Census of Marine Antarctic Life (CAML) brought international researchers together to record biodiversity in the Arctic and Antarctic: from the sea ice, water column and sea floor, ranging from the shallow shelves to deep basins of the ocean.
Biodiversity loss in warming oceans | Stanford Report
WEBMay 7, 2021 · A fossil study from Stanford University finds the diversity of life in the world’s oceans declined time and again over the past 145 million years during periods of extreme warming.
The National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy | U.S. Geological Survey
WEBJun 28, 2024 · The National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy (strategy) reflects the urgent need to leverage these advances. The goals of this strategy must be guided by the nation’s diverse voices and ways of knowing, in order to maximize effective and equitable stewardship of the ocean’s diverse life and its benefits to people.
Ocean Biodiversity - World Ocean Observatory
WEBThe ocean contains an astonishing totality of genetic species and ecosystem diversity still mostly unknown but with significant implication for food production, energy, public health, business and industry, ecosystem services, and leisure, cultural and aesthetic value.
Marine Ecosystems - National Geographic Society
WEBMarine ecosystems contain a diverse array of living organisms and abiotic processes. From massive marine mammals like whales to the tiny krill that form the bottom of the food chain, all life in the ocean is interconnected.
Protecting the global ocean for biodiversity, food and climate
WEBMar 17, 2021 · The ocean contains unique biodiversity, provides valuable food resources and is a major sink for anthropogenic carbon. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are an effective tool for restoring ocean ...