Journal de biologie marine et d'océanographie

Diversity of Marine Species

Emma Griffin

Almost 70% of Earth’s surface is covered with ocean. This water not only helps to regulate the Earth’s atmosphere, but also provides life to a variety of species. There are numerous life forms living in the ocean having different habitats based on pressure, salinity of water, temperature and other factors. Biological diversity in the ocean is defined as the variety of life that exists in the ocean, consisting of all plants and animals and the ecosystems in which they live and interact with. Analogous to the diversity among land ecosystems, there is variety in ocean ecosystem also. Owing to its vast depth, there are many locations in the ocean which are yet to be explored. Deep sea expeditions have proven that life is very abundant down in the deep sea.