What makes the ocean ecosystem unique?
It is highly three dimensional and it flows. In comparison to the terrestrial environment it is nearly 250 X thicker (5000 m vs 250 m at most). While there are organisms such as birds and insects that occupy the atmosphere, few, if any, spend their entire existence airborne. One might call them mero-aeolian organisms. Distribution of life in the sea: The vertical zonation of life in the sea can be coursely divided into the photic zone where light fuels photosynthesis given the proper nutrient supply, and a deep layer that is dependent on a flux of carbon from above in the form of detritus or vertically migrating organisms. The upper layer forms a delicate balance between the upward mixing of nutrients that accumulate in the deeper layers and the light supply. The intermediate layer just below the epipelagic or photic zone is the mesopelagic zone. This layer is characterised by various migrators that spend the night in the surface layer either grazing on phytoplankton or predation on th
