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The North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) project logo. Image courtesy of NASA. The North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) was a five-year scientific research program that investigated aspects of phytoplankton dynamics in ocean ecosystems, and how such dynamics influence atmospheric aerosols, clouds, and climate.
Climate change causes sea ice to melt, transforming the Arctic from an icy desert into an open ocean. Polar bears and seals may lose their habitats, phytoplankton growth may increase and fuel the Arctic food web , which may lead to higher carbon burial rates and possibly decrease the amount of CO 2 in the atmosphere.
Disease is a serious threat to many coral species. The diseases of coral may consist of bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic infections. Due to stressors like climate change and pollution, coral can become more vulnerable to diseases. Some examples of coral disease are Vibrio, white syndrome, white band, rapid wasting disease, and many more. [84]
Parasites will also use their hosts for more effective dispersal throughout the ocean. By infecting semi-mobile hosts, such as phytoplankton that drift in the ocean, and reproducing within them, parasites can be released into new regions by lysing host cells or through the release of spores, to then continue their life cycle in new hosts.
Climate change and increasing temperatures will also impact the health of wildlife animals as well. Specifically, climate change will impact wildlife disease, specifically affecting "geographic range and distribution of wildlife diseases, plant and animal phenology, wildlife host-pathogen interactions, and disease patterns in wildlife". [96]
Research in 2019 shows these "sun-snatching bacteria" are more widespread than previously thought and could change how oceans are affected by global warming. "The findings break from the traditional interpretation of marine ecology found in textbooks, which states that nearly all sunlight in the ocean is captured by chlorophyll in algae.
Parasitism is a relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or in another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. [20] The parasite either feeds on the host, or, in the case of intestinal parasites, consumes some of its food. [21]
In the time following, symbiotic relationships between marine invertebrates and chemoautotrophic bacteria have been found in a variety of ecosystems, ranging from shallow coastal waters to deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Symbiosis is a way for marine organisms to find creative ways to survive in a very dynamic environment.