The marine community is vast. It consists of the wide spread oceanic waters engulfing 78% of the Earth. the blue blanket all over the planet is seen well from space, hence naming our planet as the “BLUE PALNET”. It’s not a mere coincidence that we also need water to survive. Every metabolic activity in our body requires water either as a reactant or a catalyst. We can’t live without water for more than a day.
It is even stated in Hardy’s “AQUATIC APE HYPOTHESIS” that the modern apes evolved from water dwelling creatures in search of more habitable and suitable environment to survive. In accordance to the studies and researches conducted, not only humans, but all life forms originated from oceans. Starting from a single nucleic acid to evolving into a whole multicellular organism, the history of our planet has come a long way. Oceans possess life that has even dodged 4 to 5 major extinctions that changed the whole living system of Earth.
Oceans are like our societies. A fully cooperative civilization in which everyone understands their roles and survive hand in hand. They are the providers on Earth. From plants to animals to microorganisms, all reside or have been a part of this ecosystem at some point of time. Whether evolution turned to be a life changer for the evolved, they still possess a need to survive which only oceans can fulfill.
LIFE IN WATERS
Oceans are the bearers of many unique and amazing lifeforms, totally different from what we witness walking among us. No doubt territorial biodiversity is vast, but oceans show us that no type of creature is impossible to exist. Whether it is surviving with dissolved oxygen without lungs or having fins as limbs to swim; some bearing light emitting organs or some who are bioluminescent themselves; the list goes on. But with every creature we discover, we find a new way to live on this mysterious planet.
The harbingers of life in oceans are the PLANKTON. They are at the lowest tier in the food chain supporting the entire oceanic community. They are the kitchens of the family. The Phytoplankton comprise the autotrophic group of plankton, producing their own food and providing others too. The Zooplankton, on the other hand, being of animal origin, are great preys for fishes and mammals of the oceans. We witness a large diversity in these highly microscopic group of organisms, exceptions being the Jellyfishes which grow up to 11 meters and more. All these tiny lives provide a great source of nutrition to the aquatic organisms.
All the organisms that feed on plankton are basically herbivorous in nutrition. Either they are zooplankton feeders or phytoplankton feeders, they are all categorized the same. Plankton are the real examples of evolution working its way till date.
We live in a society where every role is messed up. Everyone indulges in every aspect of their lives withholding a heavy load of responsibilities. No one is conscious of their importance or role in this community. But oceans are completely sorted. Maybe because of the non-existence of human race in the waters which keeps them from interfering. Every organism works for its survival. It doesn’t mean they are selfish. Animals and plants work together as a society, mutually helping each other to live, surpassing all their shortcomings.
Based on the mode of nutrition, organisms are herbivorous, carnivorous and omnivorous. Herbivorous are plankton and macrophyte feeders viz., some turtles and parrotfish. Those who prey on smaller or, in some extraordinary cases of deep-sea fishes, fishes larger than their own body size, are known as carnivorous species. Apart from these two, there are some like crabs and lobsters, which feed on both the options available to survive every severe condition. These are called omnivorous organisms. All these organisms form a major food web in the marine society.
Many food chains when compiled together form a Food web. A marine food web includes not only marine organisms, but also the birds that feed on them and the detritus dwelling microbes and worms that are directly or indirectly linked to the marine food systems. Such collaboration is not seen in human societies. We feel our societies are complex but they aren’t even 10% complicated as the nature. Everyone plays a crucial part in every aspect of the life.
WANDERERS OR WONDERS?!
The niche chosen to be reflected here is not a simple one but for sure is the basic one. It consists of all the organisms living in the waters, all the aerial organisms feeding on these organisms as well as those who are territorial but need these vast waters for some of their life phases. The mighty ocean not only accommodates the biota in its grasp but also every one that is involved in its functioning.
The ocean dwellers are not only aquatic fishes but also aquatic mammals. So much uniqueness present in one whole ecosystem. We do not need to go territorial to witness animals giving birth or laying eggs. We witness harsh aggressions to breed, strategic tactics as well as loving displays to breed and take forward the generations. All in one ecosystem that supports all lives on the planet.
Apart from the autotrophs, we have the one’s I like to call the Wanderers! These incredible beings wander around the large oceans without any landmark and return back at the end of every season. They can be swimming around in search of food or mates. Some are even seen to wander around in search of a good place to die!
Getting on this journey to explore the marine life, I am sure everyone will be thrilled.
THE CORAL SOCIETY
A vastly spread community in the marine world is the Coral community. Corals are marine invertebrates which colonize at a place and form large structures called the Reefs. These reefs are basically colonies of many identical individuals known as Polyps. These are an important reef building community of the marine waters. These individuals then harbor a number of tiny organisms mutually or otherwise. They are thus the most widely diverse societies of the oceans.
What are Corals?
Corals are marine invertebrate Cnidarians. These are colorful attractive looking ornamental organisms, many species of which are important reef builders of the oceanic waters. A large portion of the ocean is formed by the corals, in the form of barrier reefs, fringing reefs, atolls, etc. Along with the diverse structures, they inhabit a large proportion of organisms in their society in the form of symbiosis or other interactive pathways. They are highly diverse in terms of species diversity and themselves are a whole new ecosystem. Therefore, they are known as the ‘RAINFORESTS OF THE OCEANS’. With bodies made up of calcium carbonate, these organisms make huge and hard structures in the form of reefs.
These organisms include many diverse species. These species are further categorized as Hard and Soft corals. Hard corals are sometimes also referred to as Hermatypic corals. These are the species capable of forming reefs and reef-like structures. They include a unique symbiotic association with algae, the Zooxanthellae. The algae provide these organisms with food prepared by photosynthesis while their hard structures provide algae with a safe shelter. These organisms also provide a characteristic color to the colonies which disappear if the relationship is hampered due to any reason. One such reason is the rapid Climate Change.
The increasing temperature of the waters due to global warming cause the water to turn acidic. Also, it breaks the relationship between the above two organisms as they need relatively cool temperatures to survive properly. These two reasons cause the discoloration of corals due to the loss of zooxanthellae. This phenomenon is known as CORAL BLEACHING. This is the indicator of deterioration of corals and the rapidly changing climate on Earth and how it is affecting our oceans. The zooxanthellae are easily recovered as the temperature decreases, but the increases acidity of the oceanic waters leave a long-lasting mark on the coral survival.
These 2 mutually dependent creatures survive together, showing the amazing interdependent relationship that can arise and succeed between two highly diverse and different organisms.
Ahermatypic corals is another name for Soft corals. As the name suggests, they are found incapable of forming reefs or reef-like structures due to absence of secretion of the hard calcium carbonate exoskeleton by the individual polyps. Instead, the calcium carbonate is found in the form of sclerites arising from their bodies. These species do not possess any particular relationship with the algae and no symbiosis is observed.
These organisms, like any other living organism, need to reproduce in order to survive. For the sole purpose of reproduction, these species adopt many different methods of reproduction. These organisms reproduce either asexually or sexually. One form is by the formation of buds or Budding, in which identical buds are generated on the parent body which grow further into new individual buds. These buds sometimes detach from the parent body and swim away. Where ever they settle, they form a new community.
The other way is that the individual bud does/doesn’t detach from the parent coral and continues the existing colony. They branch in a complex manner to form variety of huge calcareous structures.
Be it any type of reproduction, these creatures, when divide, contribute to a large portion of marine life and shelter to others. Even though they form less than 0.2% of the ocean’s total area, more than a million organisms associate within their ecosystems. And not only of one type, these associated organisms are highly diverse on a large scale!
CORAL BLEACHING
Coral bleaching is a deteriorative phenomenon which is spreading like wildfire all among the coral communities. It is mainly due to human interference into the nature; not directly into the oceans but even on land which eventually end into these vast water bodies. Several industries, factories, colonies, all in all the human settlement think of the oceans as a huge dumping ground for every particle present on earth which is waste for us. Without even thinking that it can be harmful for other organisms too who share the planet with us.
These wastes result in some adverse changes in the waters. The water is an alkaline environment for the aquatic organisms to survive. It maintains its own pH, alkalinity and dissolved substances which make up for more than half of the constituents of the sea water. These conditions also help in the osmoregulation of all aquatic beings, majority of which are cold blooded and depend on the outside environment to maintain their bodily functions.
The accumulation of substances which are considered wastes to us are more or less harmful and sometimes fatal for the organisms. These causes many changes and thus problems in the water like-
- Acidity – these substances decrease the pH of water to and extent that many organisms die due to acidity. The blood pH of such organisms alter, resulting in subsequent reduction in their metabolism and finally death. Corals are one of the most exploited creatures in the oceans and are one of the most deteriorated species due to increasing acidity. Corals lose their symbiotic relationships as the reduced pH kill the zooxanthellae. This further results in discoloration of these structures and malfunctioning in the secretions of calcium carbonates that form their bodies. They eventually perish in large numbers resulting in high fall in biodiversity of the waters as they are the homes to many other organisms.
- Temperature – All the activities which we perform in our day to day lives emit a certain but large amount of games which are high in heat energy. Such emissions alter the heat composition of our atmosphere. These temperature differences then affect the physical properties of water in the oceans. They increase the temperature of water to an extent that is not normal from the organisms living in it. This results in fatal repercussions. Many organisms die due to unavailability of proper oxygen and many remain stunted in many ways. Corals lose zooxanthellae and their colors as the temperature increases. It also results in mal secretion of calcium carbonate to form their structures. They soon die out. Such exploitation is not easy to deal with when we talk about diversity and vulnerability. Due to global warming, the temperature has risen so much that the water parameters are changing very rapidly and abnormally killing millions.
- Human wastes – humans have set up so many industries does that for the manufacturing of different goods needed by the people. These goods can be made out of natural raw materials or by the exploitation of harmful chemicals present on earth. However all these industries generate tones of wastes that have nowhere to go. So these wastes so produced are dumped into the oceans to get rid of them. Without thinking of the consequences and the other creatures in the sea, we are continuously ignoring the fact that we need them in one way or the other. The heavy metals like lead and mercury as well as the nuclear wastes are not the only ones which are dangerous. Simple wastes like sewage and chemical wastes like plastics also pose a great danger. These wastes, when mixed with sea water, cause the physical properties to change as well as are ingested by the aquatic organisms that biomagnifies the substances leading to our bodies in the end. The corals are destroyed by such chemicals as they deteriorate the water quality by increasing acidity and also create havoc in the concentrations of dissolved substances in water. Many species die every day due to this cause and nothing major is done for the correction.
Being the living entities on the planet, we are born with the responsibility of saving our fellow creatures as well as creating a peaceful life. We are the most advanced organisms on Earth, having the maximum IQ, still we lack behind in social values which even plants possess!
We are entangled so deep in our societies and greed that we forget about the societies and communities we are destroying for our survival. Corals are the Rainforests of the oceans. If Amazon rainforests are destroyed, our earth will collapse. Same will be the consequence of overexploiting the former. We don’t realize this till we would lack oxygen and food to survive and will witness the wrath. Corals seem to be non living but are one of the most important living creatures on Earth, giving ways of living to billions others too.