This article is about the entire ecosystem in saline water, including all living organisms and their interactions. For more detailed aspects about specific types of environment within the marine ecosystem, see marine habitat.
Coral reefs form complex marine ecosystems with tremendous biodiversity.
Marine ecosystems are the largest of Earth's aquatic ecosystems and exist in waters that have a high salt content. These systems contrast with freshwater ecosystems, which have a lower salt content. Marine waters cover more than 70% of the surface of the Earth and account for more than 97% of Earth's water supply[1][2] and 90% of habitable space on Earth.[3] Seawater has an average salinity of 35 parts per thousand of water. Actual salinity varies among different marine ecosystems.[4] Marine ecosystems can be divided into many zones depending upon water depth and shoreline features. The oceanic zone is the vast open part of the ocean where animals such as whales, sharks, and tuna live. The benthic zone consists of substrates below water where many invertebrates live. The intertidal zone is the area between high and low tides. Other near-shore (neritic) zones can include mudflats, seagrass meadows, mangroves, rocky intertidal systems, salt marshes, coral reefs, lagoons. In the deep water, hydrothermal vents may occur where chemosynthetic sulfur bacteria form the base of the food web.
Marine ecosystems are characterized by the biological community of organisms that they are associated with and their physical environment. Classes of organisms found in marine ecosystems include brown algae, dinoflagellates, corals, cephalopods, echinoderms, and sharks.
Marine ecosystems are important sources of ecosystem services and food and jobs for significant portions of the global population. Human uses of marine ecosystems and pollution in marine ecosystems are significantly threats to the stability of these ecosystems. Environmental problems concerning marine ecosystems include unsustainable exploitation of marine resources (for example overfishing of certain species), marine pollution, climate change, and building on coastal areas. Moreover, much of the carbon dioxide causing global warming and heat captured by global warming are absorbed by the ocean, ocean chemistry is changing through processes like ocean acidification which in turn threatens marine ecosystems.
Because of the opportunities in marine ecosystems for humans and the threats created by humans, the international community has prioritized "Life below water" as Sustainable Development Goal 14.[5] The goal is to "Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development".[6]
^"Oceanic Institute". www.oceanicinstitute.org. Archived from the original on 2019-01-03. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
^"Ocean Habitats and Information". 2017-01-05. Archived from the original on April 1, 2017. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
^"Facts and figures on marine biodiversity | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization". www.unesco.org. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
^United States Environmental Protection Agency (2 March 2006). "Marine Ecosystems". Retrieved 2006-08-25.
^Ritchie, Roser, Mispy, Ortiz-Ospina. "Measuring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. SDG 14" SDG-Tracker.org, website (2018).
^United Nations (2017) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 6 July 2017, Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (A/RES/71/313)
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