Most marine life is concentrated in coastal areas and in the most superficial layers of the oceans where, thanks to the entry of sunlight, plants can carry out photosynthesis, thus generating vital support for the base of the chain food. These brighter marine locations are known as the photic zone. What animals live here?
At sea
1. Dolphin
This cetacean usually lives in small groups and is quite coastal, although sometimes it is concentrated in herds of hundreds of specimens and ventures into the high seas. It can detect its prey through sight or through the sounds it makes through its head. These sounds also serve to communicate with their peers.
2. Whale
Although sea mammals they need to get out of the water to breathe air, many of them have the ability to spend a long time underwater and at great depths. What allows them to survive and swim at these depths is the fact that their heart rate slows and their blood flow is altered to provide all vital organs with sufficient oxygen while underwater.
3. Turtle
Their oar-shaped fins allow these reptiles to move smoothly in the water. Are sea turtles They can remain underwater without having to surface to breathe for up to two hours and migrate thousands of kilometers until they return to nesting beaches to lay eggs.
4. Stingray
They are recognized in the oceans for their large size and majestic shape, mantas belong to the genus Mobula. They can live more than 50 years; They are also cartilaginous fish, but they do not have a stinger in their tail.
One of the most amazing features of manta rays is that they have a large brain that can keep them warm even when swimming in colder than usual water.
5. Jellyfish
They have long tentacles full of stingers that act as a defense and to capture their prey, they cause strong hives to humans if they come into contact with them. 95% of their body is made up of water and they travel through the seas letting themselves be dragged by the currents.
In the air
5. Pelican
When someone thinks of waterfowl, a pelican almost never comes to mind. However, these huge birds with their characteristic beaks are very experienced fishers.
Pelicans are easily recognizable due to their distinctive beak. It has a pouch in the lower jaw that gives it its clumsy and slow appearance, although in reality it is one of the best flying birds.
6. Seagull
Gulls are flying birds of the Laridae family. They are generally large birds, mostly gray or white plumage, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, rather long beaks.
7. Albatross
An albatross in the air can be a spectacular image. These feathered giants have the longest wings of any bird, up to 3,5 meters! The wandering albatross is the largest of some two dozen different species.
These birds use their formidable wings to ride the ocean winds and sometimes to glide for hours without resting or flapping their wings. They also float on the surface of the sea, although the position makes them vulnerable to aquatic predators. Albatrosses drink salty water, just like other seabirds.
The sea is also home to millions of species of microorganisms and plant species, which play a very important role in the oxygenation of the planet. In addition, they support the rest of the marine food chain.
In other words, the oceans are an important source of biodiversity in the world and constant food for various non-marine species, including humans themselves.