Marine Biology
When you think of a marine biologist, what do you see? You might picture a dolphin trainer, or maybe you see a man swimming with whales and sharks deep in the middle of the ocean. The field of marine biology is the study of aquatic organisms, their behaviors, and their interactions with the environment. It is considered the most unknown and exciting fields of oceanography.
The Phoenicians and the Greeks are responsible for the earliest known studies of marine biology. However, specific references to marine life were never recorded until the writings of Aristotle (384-322 BC). He discovered various types of crustaceans and fish: he is known for being the father of marine biology. The study of marine biology advanced with the
…show more content…
At the most fundamental level, they need to study the behaviors, genetics, diseases, and the life cycles for the life forms that dwell in marine environments. Marine biologists are considered experts in aquatics and more specifically, experts on the plants and animals that live in the ocean. They may conduct experiments as scientists in a laboratory or in the field, for academic purposes or for research that could be beneficially to the human and animal community. Marine biologists also could work on rescue missions to help support animals in the sea who are in trouble or …show more content…
Since it is estimated that only 5% of the oceans have been explored, more biologists will be needed to study the ocean and the unknown species that live within it. However, because most funding comes from governmental agencies, the demand for marine biologists will be limited by the budget given by those agencies.
Without a detailed understanding of the effects of pollution, coastal development, overfishing, and the sustainability of ocean oxygen production, there is a strong possibility of the environment and the health of humans to suffer great risks. As the human population grows, it will expose wildlife and marine life to lethal threats such as habitat loss and disease. Marine biologists and their research will be needed so potential problems can be solved now, instead of when it’s too
...ms within. I grew up on the lake, so water will and has always been a part of my life. I go to the beach almost every year, so I am frequently involved with the ocean life as well. My dad is a fisherman; he has been to many places and shown me many unique animals he has caught. I feel that it would be the most interesting job to have because there is a huge ocean to explore. Another awesome part of the job would be the idea of always learning new things about the fish. It would never turn into that job that has the same old routine because discoveries are still being made. The only down side to being a marine biologist is constantly smelling like a fish and dealing with the rather large fish that could endanger my life. But every job is going to have a down side, if these two are the only downsides to having this job, then I would have no problem conquering my fear.
An English naturalist Charles Darwin (1802-1882) developed a theory of biological evolution. He studied variation in plants and animals during his five years’ voyage around the world in the 19th century. Darwin studied hundreds of species, which he researches variations between locations. His theory states that all species of organism arise and develop through natural selection. Natural selection is the process of organisms that adapt to their surrounding environment, which tend to survive and produce more offspring. Killer whales are remarked to have evolutionary links from land dwelling organisms, millions of years ago. This paper will display the evolution and natural selection of the killer whale.
Rachel Carson worked at the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) as a marine biologist. While at the FWS, Carson produced three books on the ocean’s ecosy...
Imagine a lush underwater place. Beautiful structures colorful animals and places that would never have been thought of before. In reality that's not what it really looks like, really the ocean is a desolate place that is barren like a desert. Many marine species have been lost by as much as 49%.(seeker) A big part of that reason is because of coral bleaching which causes as stated above a decline in species that depend on the coral as there home. Coral bleaching is a serious problem that could cause problems for everyone if we don’t fix it.
Scott Doney, in 2007 mentioned that ocean life was facing an almost unprecedented environmental challenge. He stated that marine life has endured large climatic changes and acidification discrepancies in the past but the anticipated rates of climate change and ocean acidification over the next century are much rapid than experienced by the planet earlier.
The Natural History of Megaptera novaeanglae Matthew Bindman, “Lab section” The humpback whale, scientifically known as Megaptera novaenglae, is one of the most majestic marine mammals on the planet. Humpback whales belong to a filter feeding subphylum of whale called Mysticeti and are in the family Balaenopteridae (Milinkovitch and Lambert 2008). They possess morphological features that help them engage in different styles of predation, are located in all the major ocean basins, engage in long distance migrations, and were almost wiped out due to over exploitation. Unlike other balaenopterids, M.novaenglae relies heavily on maneuverability when capturing prey and their pectoral flippers allow them to be highly maneuverable (Wiley et al. 2011). The 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the Their pectoral flippers are the longest of any cetacean, which vary in length from one fourth to one third the total body length (Wiley et al. 2011).
While both fields carry importance within the science community, I feel that both should be given equal opportunities to be explored. Prager also expresses that students should have more opportunities for fieldwork and research when studying the seas. She continues to express the importance of fieldwork to not only students in marine sciences, but in any field of science. The physical action of working and collecting data alongside performing observational studies has been proven to improve students’ ability to learn. Prager vocalizes that the discovery and uncover of the mysteries of the oceans is through the future generation of scientists. In my eyes, the money spent on ocean and space exploration should be equal. The general understanding is that the creation of life might have begun in the depths of the oceans. With a scientific background I feel as if the exploration of the oceans should be given more attention to the exploration of space. The exploration of the oceans might lead to new clues on how the human population truly came to be. Marine exploration should be just as important as space exploration because this bias of funding is not evenly distributed within the science community. I learned that our actions here on land in terms of trash and debris management have a huge impact on the marine life throughout the oceans, as certain areas of the ocean are becoming dead zones due to our negligence and improper disposable of our debris. Prager concludes with the discussion of how the oceans are changing due to the impact of human negligence, and the importance of scientific research to understanding how these changes will affect our lives in the
Marine biology is the study of marine life in salt water ecosystems. It can also be described as observing how marine species interact with one another. Certain species of underwater plants can affect the environment in which they are put in. Some branches of marine biology study the affects of said plants. There are many branches of marine biology. Many people tend to study dolphins or sharks, since those are the most known marine animal. Only 30% of the world's oceans have been explored. This means that by being a marine biologists, I can have the chance to explore parts of the world that have never been seen before. Not many people are willing to go through the dark places of the oceans. This is what I want to do, because I would be the first one to see what is hidden behind the veil of darkness.
Oceans are such so vast that people underestimate the impact their actions —seeming so insignificant— have on them. Humans have by and large taken the oceans for granted; not considering how important a healthy ocean is to our survival. A popular mind-set is that the oceans are a bottomless supply of fish, natural resources, and an infinite waste dump. There are myriad reasons why the oceans should be saved and the most obvious one is marine life. With 71% of the Earth being covered by water, it is obvious that sea creatures are predominant form of life, making up 80% of the species of life on Earth. However, as important as marine life is, that is not the only reason why saving the oceans is crucial. The ocean floor provides natural resources such as, oil, natural gas, petroleum, minerals, medications, and ingredients for foods and products. The economic benefits of the oceans are huge and significant, as well. Fishing and fish products have provided employment to 38 million people and have generated about $124 billion in economic benefits. However, oceans are on the verge of crisis, marine life, natural resources, transportation, the economy, and important ingredients are at risk due to overfishing, pollution, and acidification. Thus, in this essay I will argue that, oceans are not impervious to human activity and threatening the health of the ocean threatens the health of humanity, since oceans key to our survival.
When the average person thinks about zoology, they usually think about a zoo and or animals. As said in General Zoology, many questions come with this topic. “What is life? In what ways are the various kinds of animals alike or unlike in structure, internal processes, and modes of life? How do animals carry on their activities? How are the many kinds related to one another? In what ways does man resemble and differ from other living things? The answers to many of these questions are provided by the science of zoology.” (General Zoology, page 3). While zoology does involve animals, the general study of zoology is far more complicated then one would imagine. Zoology is a branch of biology that studies the classification, origins, habitats and behaviors of organisms. Someone who studies zoology is a zoologist, and has the tasks of learning about new species and their habitats. It is a job that if mastered, can be one of the most fulfilling and knowledgeable careers someone can obtain.
Aquaculture Management – Scallop Introduction: Why should you go into aquaculture? Fishes (seafood) are known to produce protein for human consumption more efficiently than any other species, also stated by nutritionists, fish provides healthier forms of protein. http://marinelife.about.com/od/invertebrates/tp/10-Facts-About-Scallops.htm 1st Stage: Collection of spat (scallop larvae) There are two ways to obtain spat to start an aquaculture farm: • Collection of wild spat - set up a series of mesh spat bags suspended in the water column on a line anchored to the seafloor in an area known to have high scallop productivity. The concept of the collection is that the spats will pass through the mesh bag and attach to the material stuffed inside and grow until they are larger than the mesh material to be collected.
Did you know that more than 90 percent of all organisms that have ever lived on Earth are extinct? According to Pandey, the author of Humans Pushing Marine Life toward ‘Major Extinction’, nearly 10,000 species go extinct each year, and this rate is estimated to be 1,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate (1). Human beings are causing irreversible damage to the oceans and their wildlife, which is being led by two major reasons: Commercial fishing or over-fishing, which damaged the marine environment and caused a loss in the marine life diversity, and pollution, which is a primary way of the extinction causes that drastically modifies the marine life habitat. As a result of the commercial fishing and pollution, many of the marine species will start disappearing of the oceans. Briggs emphasizes that over-fishing “has induced population collapses in many species. So instead of having less than a hundred species at risk, as was the case some 30-40 years ago, there are now a thousand or more (10).”
Career Reflection Paper I strive to become a marine biologist who studies the organisms in the ocean such as animals, plants, and their ecosystems, also observing, protecting, or managing marine organisms. Some subfields that are linked to the marine biology would be an invertebrate zoologist, ichthyologist, and the study of oceanography. Since the sixth grade, I would watch documentaries on National Geographic explaining our oceans and what may lie within them. It has always intrigued me to learn to learn about that 71% of ocean covering the Earth’s surface, whether it may be coral reefs, endangered organisms, or the terrible mistreatment of aquatic animals around the world.
They offer 50% of the oxygen that all living things in the world depend on! Problems including the recent BP oil spill though continue to threaten the future for many plants and animals in the ocean biome. The long-term effects of such damages from that oil spill won’t be known until well into the future. Even with all the efforts that have been implemented for rescue and clean up, the damages to the species live in the ocean has already occurred on many levels. Scientists have identified and categorized more than 1 million different types of plants and algae in the ocean biomes.
Introduction One particularly interesting sea creature is the whale shark, formally known as Rhincondon typus; it was first discovered in 1828 by Andrew Smith (Rowat 2012). This large fish is found globally in warm tropical oceans and prefers to stay within 200 meters of the ocean’s surface in waters ranging from 4.2 to 28.7 degrees Celsius (Stevens 2006). This creature can be found all across the globe in warm tropical seas. Aggregations of whale sharks have been seen off the coast of Australia at times, although it is primarily a creature of solitude. Whale sharks are filter feeders that consume plankton as well as small fish and are harmless to humans.