OCEAN LIFE | 4K RELAXATION NATURE | MARINE LIFE | SEA LIFE | NATURE IN 4K

Marine life, sea life, or ocean life is the plants, animals and other organisms that live in the salt water of seas or oceans, or the brackish water of coastal estuaries. At a fundamental level, marine life affects the nature of the planet. Marine organisms, mostly microorganisms, produce oxygen and sequester carbon.

What is ocean life called?

Focus areas: Our ocean, coasts, and estuaries are home to diverse living things. These organisms take many forms, from the tiniest single-celled plankton to the largest animal on Earth, the blue whale.

It is a unique home to many different species that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Scientists have estimated that there are around 29 species of sharks, 17 of whales and dolphins, 5 of marine turtles, 1,078 of fish, 359 of hard corals, and many more invertebrates.

Why is ocean life important?
It provides climate regulation, food, jobs, livelihoods, and economic progress. Thus, we must work together to protect and save the ocean for the sake of our future survival on this planet.

Scientists think that up to 91 percent of marine species have not yet been identified; but there could be as many as 700,000 of them! Most—95 percent—are invertebrates, animals that don’t have a backbone, such as jellyfish and shrimp. The most common vertebrate (an animal with a backbone) on Earth is the bristlemouth, a tiny ocean fish that glows in the dark and has needlelike fangs.

Some of the smallest animals on Earth can be found in the ocean. Sea animals like zooplankton are so small you can see them only with a microscope. Big fish swim through these waters too, such as great white sharks, manta rays, and ocean sunfish.

The largest animal ever to live on Earth is an ocean mammal called the blue whale. It’s as long as two school buses! Dolphins, porpoises, and sea lions are also ocean-dwelling mammals.

The ocean teems with plant life. Most are tiny algae called phytoplankton—and these microscopic plants have a big job. Through photosynthesis, they produce about half of the oxygen that humans and other land-dwelling creatures breathe. Bigger algae like seaweed and kelp also grow in the ocean and provide food and shelter for marine animals.

Most ocean life can be found in coastal habitats on the continental shelf, even if this area occupies only 7% of the total ocean area. Most of the open ocean habitats are found in the deep ocean beyond the edge of the continental shelf.