Biology of life in oceans and brackish waters: plankton, coral reefs, deep-sea, ocean productivity, marine mammals. Covers ~70% of the biosphere by area and is critical to biogeochemical cycles and climate feedbacks.
marine-biology
Plankton
Drifting aquatic organisms, phytoplankton (primary producers, ~50% of global photosynthesis) and zooplankton. Size classes from…
Ocean primary productivity
Photosynthetic carbon fixation ~50 Pg C/y ocean-wide, comparable to terrestrial. Limited mostly by nitrogen (tropics) or iron (HNLC…
Coral reef ecosystem
Scleractinian-coral–Symbiodiniaceae mutualism builds CaCO₃ framework hosting ~25% of marine species on <1% of ocean area. Thermally…
Hydrothermal-vent biology
Chemosynthetic communities around deep-sea vents: Riftia tubeworms with endosymbiotic sulfur-oxidising bacteria, Alvinella 'Pompeii worm'…
Biological carbon pump
Fraction of surface NPP exported as sinking particulate organic carbon to the deep ocean, sequestering CO₂ for centuries. Export-efficiency…
Ocean zonation
Vertical: epipelagic (0–200 m, lit), mesopelagic (200–1000 m, twilight), bathypelagic (1000–4000 m, dark), abyssopelagic (4000–6000 m),…
Marine food web
Phytoplankton → zooplankton → planktivorous fish → piscivorous fish → apex predators (shark, tuna, marine mammals). Trophic transfer…
Marine biodiversity hotspots
Centres of high endemism under threat — Coral Triangle (most fish and coral diversity), Caribbean, Western Indian Ocean, Philippines.…