Yessica Pacheco

Life in the Ocean

By James W. Nybakken and Steven K. Webster Key Points:

Though the planet is called Earth, a majority of Earth's surface is covered in water The ocean is so big that scientists had only studied 10% of the entire ocean There are more land species than aquatic species Seawater is about 800 times as dense as air The ocean cannot support much plant life because of the low nutrients compare to land Areas such as the coasts are home to some of the largest fisheries Oxygen is richest at the bottom and surface of the water The pressure of the ocean can reach 1,100 atmospheres, which is 1,100x greater than normal air Cold, heavy water is richly supplied with nutrients. Warmer waters have low nutrients because all of the phytoplankton have depleted them Aquatic animals are more diverse than land animals in terms of body type The only animals that can survive at this depth have a very special adaptation that allows them to live in this environment Though diversity of species is high at the ocean, population for each specie is quite low Most of these creatures have a glow in the dark feature, and most have repetitively large eyes The habitats scientists know the most about, are also the ones most damaged Intertidal zone species have to endure dryness, brightness, shift in temperatures, and wear-and-tear from waves. Most animals found here are hard shelled, grips to rocks or hides in crevices Weather patterns and seasonal variations also impact the species of intertidal zones Coral reefs house many ocean species Coral reefs are found toward the tropics where water is warmer. Kelp beds are better off in colder waters

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Authors main point: There is a huge number of different species all throughout the aquatic ecosystem. It is so vast, that scientists have only been able to study 10% of the ocean. The deep oceans for example, has a water pressure of 1,100 atmospheres, which is 1,100 times heavier than our air, but animals can still survive in that depth. The ocean provides the greatest diversity in body shapes, however land species are more abundant. The ocean is full of life. Coral reefs are normally found in warmer waters while kelp beds are usually found in slightly cooler waters. The areas that scientists know the most about are usually found near shorelines. Sadly, these areas are also the most damaged.

My Thoughts:
I loved learning all of this but think theres many more stuff to learn and yet to figure out. We have only researched 10% of the oceans which is surprisingly low when you think about how long humanity has been or Earth. We should try to do further research and improve on what we know. The better we understand the world, the better we can understand why animals do what they do. We should also work to conserve the parts of aquatic ecosystem because many of them will get damaged and we will no longer have anything to research if its no longer there. The article tells about how many areas are damaged and I say we should all make this known everywhere so that no more areas get damaged.

So What?
The oceans are very important and special because they are the home to many species discovered and undiscovered. The ocean covers the majority of the planet which Is water.

Yessica Pacheco

What if?
What If the oceans all disappeared? What if they were gone? We would lose hundreds and thousands of species. Land species would also be damaged. Says Who? Says James W. Nybakken and Steven K. Webster.

This Reminds Me of? This reminds me of the ocean acidification report because it makes me think of how that article made me think of how we could lose all the animals if ocean acidification occurs.