Marine life and how marine organisms are affected

Ocean life includes all the plants, fish and other organisms that live in the salt water, there are
thousands of species in marine life, from tiny species to massive whales. Each species have its
own habitat and they have adapted to it, the marine organisms have to deal with several problems
such as:

• Regulations of salt intake
• To obtain oxygen
• Adapting to the water pressure.
• They have to deal with water, wind and waves.
• Adopt to the changing temperature.
• To get sufficient sunlight.
  The marine organisms survive in this environment in a different ways from ours.

Regulation of salt intake:

Fish drinks salt water and eliminate it through their grills, Seabirds eliminate excess salt by their
nasal or salt glands. Whales do not drink the salt water instead they get the water they need from
the organisms they eat.

How marine organisms obtain oxygen:

The organisms which live underwater like fish take their oxygen through their grills and skin,
while the aquatic mammals want to come to the top to breathe and whales have puff holes on top
of their skull so they can breathe while keeping most of their body inside the water. Whales can
stay for more than an hour without breathing because they make efficient use of their lungs, and
also they store high amounts of oxygen in their blood.

Temperature change:

Ocean creatures are cold-blooded and their temperature is same as the surroundings, but
mammals are warm-blooded and they have an insulating layer of bubbler under their skin. This
bubbler helps them to maintain their body temperature even in the cold oceans, they have their
bubble layer up to 2-feet thick.

Adapting to the water pressure:

In oceans water pressure increases from 15 pounds per square inch for every 33 feet of water,
some animals do not change their water depths but other animals such as whales, sea turtles and
seals do change their depths several times which helps them to stand the high water pressure.

Waves and Winds:

Animals in some areas like intertidal zones deals with waves and winds but they do not deal with
water pressure. The invertebrates have the ability to withstand on rocks and they are not washed
away.

Light:

Every organisms need sunlight to survive, sunlight can penetrate through clear water and the
underwater visibility levels can change. Whales do not depend on the sunlight to look for their
prey, instead they locate their prey using echolocation and their hearing.

Marine pollution:

Anything that contaminates the sea is called marine pollution, common marine pollutions are
chemicals, exfoliates, bio waste and excessive noise. Marine pollution depends on the following
factors:
Toxic chemicals in water: Chemical waste from the industry affects marine life to a large extent,
even chemicals in atmosphere that dissolves through factory chimneys can dissolve into the sea.
OIL spillages: Leakage in oil tank causes enormous quantity of oil to pour into the ocean, these
oil spills can destroy marine life.
Plastic and human waste, even the tiny waste which we are throwing out can destroy the sea life.