Open Ocean

Pelagic Zone

Image retrieved from: https://www.photosforclass.com/

James T. Hooker

Introduction

The open ocean is the largest ecosystem on earth connecting every other marine ecosystem, and yet as terrestrial beings we often take this strange existence for granted. It is it is wildly foreign and hard to imagine an organism’s existence never seeing land, never having a breath of air, and never seeing the light of day. Many authors of the past have tried to imagine the depths and what they might hold, but until the last century we only knew of the tales of sailors who seen glimpses of great monsters, and mysterious creatures who washed upon the shores. Despite the modern advances of technology, the challenges that scientists face to explore the depths are great and numerous. As we explore the ocean we find creatures perfectly adapted to this strange place, and unfortunately how much we have affected even the most remote areas of this world.

Keystone species within the open ocean.

Issues

Because of the vastness of the open ocean most of the issues we face do not present themselves immediately, instead they creep up on us until they reach a point that is too overwhelming to handle. The main issues affecting the open ocean are over fishing, lack of protections, shipping, pollution, and climate change. While there are other ocean degrading pollutants and issues, the open ocean specifically has enough challenges that thousands of studies and organizations have formed to try and understand and mitigate these effects. One such organization at UNCW is the plastic Ocean Project (http://www.uncwpop.org/ ).

Although many of these issues can be seen while walking down the beach and finding dead fish or trash washed up on shore, one thing that cannot be seen from land are the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (Nat Geo, 2020). This is a vast swirling collection of trash caught in the currents. Although there are now multiple "patches" this is the largest. The plastics and debris here degrade in the sun and sea into smaller and smaller particles that never truly break down. These are called microplastics, and animals all over the world to include ourselves are becoming inundated with bio accumulation and saturation from these plastics.

Image retrieved from: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/

Human Impacts

Overfishing

The ocean is the #1 source of protein for more than 1 billion people (OWOO, 2020) Many of the species we rely on for food around the world have been over fished and trawling nets dragging the ocean bottom destroying habitat that takes years to recover. There is also the issue of by-kill (by-catch) or the non targeted species that are unfortunate enough to become entangled in nets. most of these are discarded and left to sink to the ocean floor. This is one of the most destructive human causes of biodiversity loss and puts future generations at risk.

Protections

Because the ocean is so vast there is the issue of oversight. Who is going to enforce rules and regulations over such a vast area? International legislation to preserve natural resources or wildlife within our protections only go out to 200 nautical miles. Outside of that is considered international waters (Young Firm, 2015).

Shipping/Pollution

Shipping containers and sub standard shipping vessels have been intentionally and unintentionally polluting waters for decades. About 20% of debris in the ocean comes from cargo ships, boaters, and offshore oil rigs. Some countries drive their waste out into the ocean waters and dump it, while others loss hazardous materials due to insufficient shipping standards (Nat Geo, 2020). About 705,000 tons of ocean debris consist of fishing nets. This is one of the most easily solved issues, but still remains a problem (WWF. 2020).

Climate Change

Climate change and acidification have also had a great effect on the marine life within our oceans. The Ocean is the planets largest carbon sink, and helps regulate the climates around the globe. Rising temperatures, and lowering the ph has lead to many species becoming stressed under changing conditions leading to biodiversity loss, and increased severe weather events (WWF, 2020; see also OWOO, 2020).

Distribution and Features

The distribution of the ocean is worldwide, and by volume over 99% of inhabitable space is in the open ocean. The open ocean or pelagic zone is everything outside of coastal areas and is separated by depth and ecosystem. The pelagic consists of mostly clear, nutrient-poor waters far from the shore (oceana, 2020), but still remains a wonder of diversity and evolution. Although the sea level shifts daily and by location, the deepest parts are known to be 36,201ft (11,034m) below sea level (Nat Geo, 2020), and are mostly located in the Pacific.

The uppermost level of the open ocean is the epipelagic followed by the mesopelagic, bathypelagic, abyssopelagic, and finally hadopelagic (Marinebio, 2020). Within the upper photic zone, as seen below, is the furthest down that organism can photosynthesis. This is where most of the life in the oceans resides, but not nearly all of it. The aphotic zone is where photosynthesis can no longer occur, and there is little to no light. The bathypelagic has no light, except for that produced by bio-luminescent organisms, and is less populated then the shallower waters because it lacks the primary producers. The abyssopelagic zone is where most dead organic material finds its way down, and many parts are devoid of oxygen entirely. Lastly, the hadopelagic zone is the area within large trenches on the ocean floor, with unique organisms and primary producers that metabolize hydrogen and methane.

Image retrieved from: https://marinebio.org/oceans/open-ocean/

Flora and Fauna

Some of the keystone species, as seen in the photo carousel above, are deep sea fish, seabirds, dolphins, sharks, jellyfishes, cyanobacteria, zooplankton and squids (Oceana, 2020). 50% of the air that we breath is produced from photosynthetic organisms in the ocean (oceana, 2020), and in the ocean organisms are not always exclusive to the open sea. Many of the organisms rise from the depths in the evening to feed on other organisms and then retreat to the darkness during the day to avoid predation. Sperm whales can dive for up to two hours, and at depths in the abyssopelagic zone and use clicks as echolocation to find prey, often giant squid. Also check out the video below about how powerful the sperm whales communication can be.

Many life cycles in the open ocean include larval stages that will live in the open ocean and then return to coastal waters, while some species move freely from inland waters to open ocean many times throughout their lives. The coastal community is closely interconnected with the open ocean because of the fluidity with which processes such as tides, currents, weather, migratory patterns, shipping lanes, and more interact constantly.

Below is the familiar female anglerfish, commonly found in the bathypelagic zone with its luminescent lure adapted for low light conditions and large teeth.

Image retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanocetus_eustalus

Conservation

While humans have only explored 5% of the worlds oceans (Oceana, 2020), there is much more that we need to see, and much more that can be done to save our largest planet regulating ecosystem. Harrison Ford once said "If we are to survive on this planet, the only home any of us will ever know, for our climate, for our security, for our future, we need nature, now more than ever" (Harrison Ford on conservation ). I don't know about you, but the man has saved entire star systems from oppressive governments, protected mankind against a supernatural ark, defended us against our own replicant creations, and now when he warms of the climate crisis we should take heed.

Some organizations that are taking control of the growing problems within our oceans are The Plastic Pollution Coalition, The Ocean Conservancy, AWARE, and 4Ocean conducting cleanup initiatives on ocean dives and bringing together volunteers. This helps with the visible pollution, but what about the wildlife? NOAA under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Endangered Species Act have the authority to work with various organizations to inform the public and facilitate the protection and recovery of many threatened species. Lastly the EPA works with state officials, the Coast Guard, companies, and other countries to address issues on marine plastic, and litter. They also work with organizations on land based pollutants, but that's another ecosystem.

Web Resources

Here is a popular mechanics article on deep sea drones that will be used to explore the ocean floor. Drones have become so vital in exploration because of safety, cost, and efficiency, if you plan to enter a growing field this might be a good choice for you. Dr. Dumas teaches an estuarine drone class at UNCW that I highly recommend.

Here is a link to some citizen science projects, that if you find yourself on the open ocean you should participate in. Although they have projects for all types of ecosystems, the ones for whales are particularly applicable.

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/involved/citizen-science.html

Here is a dive school website for those who might be interested in taking a swim with the fishes, no pun intended.

http://www.scuba-now.com/

Here is some research grant opportunities for the studious types to possibly make a difference with nano/micro plastics in the ocean, and climate change observations and data collection. There are open deadlines through the rest of the year and beyond, so get out there and get some data.

https://www.openchannels.org/grants

Here is a website with some interesting facts about the ocean that add to my information, and reveal some new gems.

https://www.trafalgar.com/real-word/10-unbelievable-facts-ocean/

Resources

EPA. (2020). Protecting the marine environment. Retrieved from: https://www.epa.gov/international-cooperation/protecting-marine-environment

National Geographic(Nat Geo). (2020). Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Resource Library. Retrieved from: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/

NOAA. (2020). Ocean Facts. What are micro plastics. Retrieved from: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/microplastics.html

Oceana. (2020). Marine science and ecosystems. Open ocean. Retrieved from: https://oceana.org/marine-life/marine-science-and-ecosystems/open-ocean

One World One Ocean (OWOO). (2020). MacGillivray Freeman Films. Why the Ocean. Retrieved from: http://www.oneworldoneocean.com/pages/why-the-ocean#:~:text=The%20ocean%20is%20Earth's%20life,oxygen%20comes%20from%20the%20ocean.&text=The%20ocean%20regulates%20our%20climate,on%20or%20near%20the%20coast.

Stewart, K., Stewart, I. (2020).Guide to ocean conservation organizations and efforts. Dive Training. Retrieved from: https://dtmag.com/thelibrary/ocean-conservation-efforts/

The MarineBio Conservation Society. (2020). Ocean Science. Retrieved from: https://marinebio.org/oceans/open-ocean/

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). (2020) Ocean threats. Open Ocean. Retrieved from: https://wwf.panda.org/our_work/oceans/open_ocean/ocean_threats/

Young Firm. (2015). Maritime Law. Retrieved from: https://www.jonesactlaw.com/faqs/what-are-international-waters-and-what-are-their-boundaries/

Google Sites

Report abuse