Essay - Marine Ecology Specialized Adaptations According to John Reseck, Marine Ecology...

MARINE ECOLOGY

SPECIALIZED ADAPTATIONS

According to John Reseck, marine ecology is "a branch of science concerned with the interrelationship of organisms and *****ir oceanic environments," a reference to how pl*****nts and animals in a marine setting interact with the physical attributes of a water-dominated environment, such as in the major oceans of the world which are predominately saline (87). A great variety ***** ***** and plants have managed to adapt themselves to this often harsh environment in order ***** survive and flourish.

Some of the physical elements which make up this environment include salinity (the saltiness of the water), ***** substrate (i.e. sand, gravel, and rocks), water temperature, the dispersion of light and ocean currents, all of which contribute to each organism's need to adapt by adopting certain ***** characteristics.

One particular adaptation is the application of camouflage, meaning that some marine animals ***** capable of d*****guising themselves in ***** to elude predators. ***** specific type of ***** is c*****ed disruptive coloration, best illustrated by certain types of fish that are striped or spotted or have external markings or colors that blend in ***** the *****, making it very hard to see them when set against a sandy or rocky bottom. A prime example is the flounder, a flatfish belonging to ***** famil*****s ***** Pleuronectidae or Bothidae and well-known f***** *****s ability to conceal itself on the ***** bottom to primarily escape detecti***** by predatory fish.

The flounder has adapted itself to the ***** environment by not only utilizing camouflage (most are some shade of brown which melds in with a s*****y bot*****m) but also ***** having its eyes located on the top of the head in order to observe predators or to spot potential food sources. As an added bonus, the ***** can further ***** *****elf, in fact become almost *****visible, by rapidly fluttering its body to create a cloud of silt *****nd sand which then filters down through the water and ********** it. This adaptive technique is also utilized by many other similar ***** and *****ganisms, ***** as sand dollars, starfish and certain types ***** crabs, especially the ghost crab.

Another marine organism which utilizes the advantages of camouflage is the mussel (Mytilus edul*****), a bivalve mollusk with a dark, elongated shell which can ***** be found in fresh***** environments, such ***** rivers, streams and estuaries. Generally, mussels ***** sedentary, meaning that they live in a very restricted area and not move around which is greatly in their favor since they are filter feeders ***** reproduce ***** dispersing larvae in***** the water. ***** Paul Haeffner po*****ts out, ***** "***** ideally suited to their ***** environment by having adapted the ***** ***** close their valves in ***** to ward *****f the effects of being exposed to ***** air during ebb tide" (167).

One ***** marine organism ***** has ***** *****elf almost perfectly to the ***** environment is the sponge (phylum Porifera), an elastic, porous mass ***** interlacing horny fibers that form the endoskele*****n and ***** is capable of absorbing