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14: Marine Ecology

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    45484
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    Critical Concepts
    • CC14 Phototrophy, Light, and Nutrients: Phototrophy (which includes photosynthesis) and chemosynthesis are two processes by which simple chemical compounds are made into the organic compounds of living organisms and upon which all species are ultimately dependent. Phototrophy depends on the availability of light and can only take place in a shallow upper layer of water or on the shallow seafloor. Chemosynthesis does not use light energy but instead uses chemical energy from reduced compounds. Therefore, chemosynthesis can occur in all ocean environments in which oxygen is depleted, but these environments are very limited in extent in the present-day oceans.

    • CC17 Species Diversity and Biodiversity: Biodiversity is an expression of the range of genetic diversity; species diversity; diversity in ecological niches and types of communities of organisms (ecosystem diversity); and diversity of feeding, reproduction and predator avoidance strategies (physiological diversity), within the ecosystem of the specified region. Species diversity is a more precisely-defined term and is a measure of the species richness (number of species) and species evenness (extent to which the community has balanced populations with no dominant species). High diversity and biodiversity are generally associated with ecosystems that are resistant to change.

    Mostly dark red cuttlefish with yellow on edges
    Same cuttlefish but darker and without yellow
    Same cuttlefish but a pinker red
    Same cuttlefish but white and rose
    Different cuttlefish with red, white, yellow and brown patterns
    Figure 14-1. Each of these images show the flamboyant cuttlefish (Metasepia pfefferi), which can grow to about 10 cm long. The four larger images illustrate the mastery that this species has with changing its colors. These four photos, all of the same cuttlefish, were taken in succession over a period of less than one minute. Unfortunately, the full startling range of its color cannot be captured in photographs, it can only be seen properly in person. The smaller image in the bottom left corner is a young cuttlefish, which is only about one centimeter long. It is no more than a few days old, but is already capable of the same color changing artistry that the adults of its species possess. In fact, the cuttlefish can alter their colors even before hatching from their transparent egg cases, as seen later in this chapter in Figure 14-28.

    The oceans are populated by uncounted millions of species, most of which have not yet been identified. Marine ecology is the study of relationships between species and between species and their environment.

    Because each species has a unique relationship to the ocean environment and to other species, marine ecology is a complex discipline. This chapter describes the environmental factors that govern the distribution of marine organisms, and the types of adaptations that have evolved in marine species to meet the challenges of living in the ocean.


    14: Marine Ecology is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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