Marine ecology

Marine ecology studies interactions among ocean organisms and between organisms and their physical and chemical environments, from coastal habitats to the open sea.

Marine ecosystem: A community of marine organisms interacting with one another and with their physical environment. The ecosystem is the basic unit whose interactions marine ecology investigates.
Marine stratification: The layering of seawater by density, commonly driven by temperature and salinity differences. Stratification restricts vertical mixing and affects the supply of nutrients to surface waters.
Coral reef: A marine ecosystem built largely by calcium-carbonate-producing corals and associated organisms. Reefs show how species interactions and environmental conditions create complex habitats.
Marine heatwave: A prolonged period of unusually warm ocean temperatures in a particular region. Heatwaves can cause mass mortality and shift species distributions and interactions.
Food web: A network of feeding relationships connecting organisms in an ecosystem. Food webs trace how energy and nutrients move among marine species.
Upwelling: The upward movement of deeper water toward the ocean surface. Upwelling can bring nutrients into sunlit waters and support high productivity.
Kelp forest: A coastal marine ecosystem dominated by large brown algae called kelp. Kelp forests illustrate how habitat-forming species support diverse food webs.
Coral bleaching: The loss of symbiotic algae or their pigments from corals, often caused by heat stress. Bleaching demonstrates how environmental stress can disrupt a key marine symbiosis.
Primary production: The formation of organic matter from inorganic sources, chiefly through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis. Primary production supplies the energy that supports most marine food webs.
Ocean acidification: The long-term decline in ocean pH, driven mainly by seawater absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide. Changing carbonate chemistry alters conditions for marine organisms that build calcium carbonate structures.

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