Oceanic waters are abounds in great diversity of marine organisms from tiny phytoplankton to gigantic whales. In order to decode the mistry of marine biodiversity, it is equally important to understand the interdependence of marine organisms.
Marine ecosystem constitutes vast varieties of species including fishes, lobsters, corals, molluscs, crabs, etc. For the convenience of better understanding, these are classified in the three groups on the basis of location in the sea waters.
Groups of marine organisms are as– Planktons, Nektons, and Benthos. In this blog, “Interdependence of marine organisms” You will know how they interact with one another for survival.
Classification of marine organisms
Following are the major groups of marine ecosystem.
Planktons– floating organisms
Nektons– swimming organisms
Benthos– crawling organisms
1.Planktons — floating organisms
Planktons or floaters, including plants and animals are largely occur at the surface of the oceanic waters. It has two major groups –
- Phytoplanktons
- Zooplanktons
Phytoplanktons are autotrophic plants with photosynthetic pigment. Whereas, Zooplanktons thrive on microscopic phytoplanktons.
These organisms act as a food bank for the marine herbivorous and others. Besides, they are credited for half of the oceanic oxygen through photosynthesis by using carbon dioxide and sunlight in the photic zone.
On the other hand, zooplanktons are animals which thrive on the Phytoplankton. Plankton includes species of algae, protozoans, and other floating animals.
2.Nektons — the swimming organisms
Nektons are labelled as swimmers. They are secondary consumers which thrive on primary consumers zooplanktons. Almost all have backbone. Fishes, reptiles, and dolphins are Nektons. Nektons are the great source of food for human communities.
3.Benthos — the crawling organisms
Unlike other two, benthos live at or near the bottom of the Marine topography or environment. Crabs, oysters, and octopus are popular benthos which thrive at the bottom of the aquatic environment. These are also known for theirs recycling abilities of dead materials.
In the Marine ecosystem, these are the three categories of organisms which thrive in the different regions as per theirs abilities. Undoubtedly, this is the beauty of interdependence of marine organisms in the oceanic atmosphere.
This is the natural chain of interdependence of marine organisms.
Phytoplankton=Zooplanktons=Nekton=Benthos= bacterioplankton…
This is the general order of marine ecosystem in which all the Marine communities are inter-related or interdependent.
How do marine organisms interact with one another?
Unquestionably, Sun is the primary energy sources for entire environment. In oceanic environment, Phytoplankton as an autotroph, with the help of sunlight and carbon dioxide produces food and precious oxygen for the aerobic organisms.
In this sequence, zooplanktons are primary consumers which graze on the phytoplankton for their survival. The second group is Nekton which consume zooplanktons or even other Nektons. These are secondary consumers and constitutes large proportion of human food as well.
Some of the Nektons are labelled as scavenger too.
Third group is benthos which thrive at the bottom of aquatic environment. Majority of them are decomposers and play important role in the recycling of materials.
Last words on interdependence of marine organisms,
By understanding these complex relationship of interdependence of marine organisms, we could conclude that nature has an infinite repository of resources for the welfare of its stakeholders.
But, when the greed overpowers the natural needs, everything becomes fragile and vulnerable. This is all about the interdependence of marine organisms.
Accommodation and acculturation
Impacts of sea surface temperature
Environmental protection measures
Coral reefs formation explained