Marine Biome

Other than being the largest biome of the world, the marine biome also boasts of being the most biodiverse biome on the planet. This biome plays a crucial role in presence of life on the Earth. The large-scale evaporation of water from these oceans of the world plays a crucial role in bringing about rains on land. More importantly, we humans depend on these very oceans to meet our food requirements. Sadly though, this is also the least respected biomes of the world, which has been turned into a virtual garbage dump by human beings. The study of various attributes of this biome is known as oceanography.

Marine Biome Facts

When you hear the term 'marine biome', the first thing that is likely to come to your mind is an ocean. The fact that oceans form a major part of thisbiome cannot be denied, but then this biome also consists of several coral reefs and estuaries - both of which are as important for us as the oceans are. The five oceans which make up this biome include the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Arctic Ocean and the Southern Ocean (which was added to the list of oceans only in 2000). While the scientific estimates suggest that there are 230,000 marine life forms on the Earth, the actual number is expected to be 10 times greater than that. When it comes to these lifeforms, the depth of the ocean and the distance from land play a crucial role in determining their presence.

Plants

Basically, marine plants are those plants which grow in saline water of oceans and estuaries. These plants play a crucial role in regulating the carbon dioxide concentration in the Earth's atmosphere. As in case of terrestrial plants, even the marine species take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen in the process of photosynthesis. If it were not for these plant species, we would have faced a serious dearth of oxygen on the planet. Even though algae is an aquatic eukaryotic organisms which doesn't have true stem, roots or leaves, it plays a crucial role in regulation of the CO₂ in the atmosphere owing to its chlorophyll content and therefore should be taken into consideration when talk about the benefits of marine plants. Some of the most popular plant species found in this biome include kelp, phytoplankton, sea weeds, sea grass, etc. There also exist flowering plants, which are grouped into four categories - Cymodoceaceae, Hydrocharitaceae, Posidoniaceae and Zosteraceae. Other than all these plants which are found in oceans, even the mangroves and marsh grasses which grow in estuaries are taken into consideration when talking about marine biome plants.

Animals

One gets to see a great deal of diversity when it comes to animal species of the marine biome which range from microscopic organisms, such as the bacteria and fungi, to gigantic creatures, like the blue whale - which is way larger than the elephant which is the largest animal on land. In between them lie a wide variety of marine animals which can be categorized into fish, reptiles, mammals, etc. As many as 31,500 species of fish, ranging from tiny stout infantfish to 12 ft long whale shark, inhabit various oceans of the world. While the blue whale is the largest animal on the planet, it is not a fish but one of the 120 species of mammals inhabiting the oceans. Other marine mammals include the humpback whale, leopard seal, sea otters, sea lions etc. The coral snakes, sea turtles and saltwater crocodiles are the best examples of marine reptiles. All these animals play a crucial role in smooth functioning of ocean food chain.

Being a vast biome, the marine biome is quite diverse and marked by quite a few extremes. The animals and plants here have to resort to several adaptations in order to survive these extremes. Marine animal adaptations include thick blubber which helps them survive the cold waters of the ocean biome, the ability to extract oxygen from water etc. In case of marine plants, adaptations include the ability of deep water plants to live with less sunlight, absorb carbon dioxide dissolved in water etc.