April 26, 2025
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What would happen to the Earth and us if all the creatures living in the oceans suddenly disappeared?

  • February 17, 2024
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About 40,000 species of fish, crabs, corals, worms, squids, microbes and many other creatures continue their lives in the oceans. In fact, even the extinction of a single

What would happen to the Earth and us if all the creatures living in the oceans suddenly disappeared?

About 40,000 species of fish, crabs, corals, worms, squids, microbes and many other creatures continue their lives in the oceans. In fact, even the extinction of a single living species It brings disasters that we cannot foresee.

But especially when it comes to fish, How would the entire ecosystem be affected by the absence of these creatures?

Most of us can only see the world of oceans from the beach or from a boat, but the depths of this sea that separates the continents are actually quite mysterious.

Fishing

In these mysterious depths of the oceans; such as sardines, guppies, red mullet, bluefish, giant tuna and even sharks. Fish species of all shapes and sizes live here.

These fish are also in their own ecosystem, allowing other organisms around them to survive It has all kinds of roles. Furthermore, fish serve as both prey and predators in ocean ecosystems.

Thousands of species in oceans and terrestrial ecosystems, including humans, depend on fish for food.

ocean

Small fish in coral reef ecosystems, It is consumed by larger fish and other marine animals. In fact, this means that small fish form the basis of the food web.

Again, small fish provide energy to larger fish and other creatures. On the other hand, outside the water, many birds, reptiles and mammals meets his basic protein needs by consuming fish. Even land plants can benefit from the presence of fish.

In addition, salmon returning to small streams after spending several years at sea on the west coast of the United States act as a belt that transports nutrients.

Again, these fish not only prey on the animals they catch, but also It also nourishes the plants along the stream. Currently, research shows that some plants obtain 70% of their nitrogen needs from salmon that die on or near riverbanks.

You can also say that we also need fish as a food source. Fish and various seafood, It is the main source of protein for approximately 3 billion people.

Fish also have much more than food needs.

algae

Because while they are looking for food, they are also looking for other organisms. It creates important living spaces. Plant-feeding fish, especially in coral reef ecosystems, control the growth of algae by continuously grazing them.

If these herbivorous and herbivorous fish don’t help, Algae grow quickly and cause coral death. For example, parrotfish, one of the herbivorous fish, feed directly on corals.

While this situation may initially seem bad for corals, this parrotfish feeding style can proportionally increase the growth rate of the coral colony. Again with another study parrotfish fecesIt has been confirmed to be highly nutritious for corals.

In summary, fish create habitats for other animals, and the existence of many fish species is of great importance to many habitats, even if they are limited to the oceans.

Ocean

It also affects the lives of organisms that depend on it for food and shelter. They can have direct or indirect influence. If there were no fish; Coral reef ecosystems would be covered in algae, many of us would go without food, and we would lose a number of creatures along with fish.

Sources: Business Insider, Science Alert, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

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