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Coral reefs flourish in ocean waters that provide few nutrients. They are most commonly found at shallow depths in tropical waters, but deep water and cold water coral reefs exist on smaller scales in other areas. Shallow tropical coral reefs have declined by 50% since 1950, partly because they are sensitive to water conditions. [9]
Marine life, sea life or ocean life is the collective ecological communities that encompass all aquatic animals, plants, algae, fungi, protists, single-celled microorganisms and associated viruses living in the saline water of marine habitats, either the sea water of marginal seas and oceans, or the brackish water of coastal wetlands, lagoons ...
Some species are endosymbionts of marine animals and other protists, and play an important part in the biology of coral reefs. Others predate other protozoa, and a few forms are parasitic. Many dinoflagellates are mixotrophic and could also be classified as phytoplankton. The toxic dinoflagellate Dinophysis acuta acquire chloroplasts from its prey.
Zooxanthellae are particularly associated with reef-building corals but they also inhabit other invertebrates and protists; their hosts include many sea anemones, jellyfish, nudibranchs, certain bivalve molluscs like the giant clam Tridacna, sponges and flatworms as well as some species of radiolarians and foraminiferans. [16]
In 1998, coral reefs experienced the most severe mass bleaching events on record, when vast expanses of reefs across the world died because sea surface temperatures rose well above normal. [ 12 ] [ 13 ] Some reefs are recovering, but scientists say that between 50% and 70% of the world's coral reefs are now endangered and predict that global ...
It could actually a colony of small animals. Here's what to know about the bryozoan in Ohio. Meet the bryozoan, the mysterious, microscopic animal living in Ohio's bodies of water
Many macroscopic animals and plants have microscopic juvenile stages. Some microbiologists also classify viruses as microorganisms, but others consider these as non-living. [2] [3] Marine microorganisms have been variously estimated to make up about 70%, [4] or about 90%, [5] [6] of the biomass in the ocean. Taken together they form the marine ...
Planktivorous fish (8, some damselfishes and triggerfishes) transfer energy from zooplankton up to reef predators like jacks (9), [101] which provide top-down control of reefs [102] and are important targets for shoreline recreational fisherfolk. [103] Grazers (10, chubs) help keep coral reefs from being overgrown by macroalgae. [104]