The Desert of Water
The ocean is a vital part of life here on Earth and can even be considered life itself. The ocean covers more than seventy percent of the Earth and ninety percent of water is from the ocean. The ocean is vast and full of life. However, the open ocean is considered a marine desert where life clings to survive and only organisms equipped enough will make it out there. There is barely enough oxygen in the open ocean for anything to live. Coral reefs and kelp forests thrive with life while the open ocean has little life. There is not enough food in the open ocean and no habitats. Marine organisms often take cover under marine debris to hide from predators. The Open Ocean
The organisms are involved in a complex food web with low participants and higher-up participants. The lowest participants are highly abundant and important phytoplankton and the highest on the food chain are whales and sharks. Whales can consume the most food in the ocean eating up to four percent of their body weight a day. Scientists have discovered that the abundance of phytoplankton is shrinking and these areas where there is low productivity like in the West Pacific are expanding and reign havoc on the ocean food chain. These areas are known as biological deserts. The marine desert is vast and there is a lot to think about.
Frost Museum of Science Aquarium Exhibit. Photo By Mackenzie Briggs.
Speaking of life, the Everglades National Park is full of plants and animals. The Everglades is a subtropical wetland ecosystem. There are about three hundred species of fish, a lot of insects, seventeen species of amphibians, three hundred and sixty species of birds, forty species of birds, and fifty species of reptiles. Alligators are abundant in the Everglades as well as birds. There are many non-venomous and venomous snakes. The rarest sight in the Everglades is the Florida Panther. The Everglades is a particularly important environment to the Florida ecosystem. The Everglades is about one point five acres and is an awesome place for anyone to visit. Everglades
The Florida Panther. Photo By Mackenzie Briggs.
The Everglades. Photo By Mackenzie Briggs.
I found the piece about the open ocean being a dessert very interesting. It was a great analogy. The fact there is so much life in certain areas, like coral reefs and kelp forests, and in the open ocean there is very little is very fascinating. How you can go from nothing to everything definitely shows how important coral reefs and kelp forests are to the ecosystem.
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