Essay On Marine Ecosystem

Introduction:

Marine ecosystem:

In the earth’s aquatic ecosystem, Marine aqua ecosystem is also one among it. Life originated on around Earth started about 3.5 billion years ago in the oceans. Today, the number of organisms living there is unknown, merely which is very large and that only a few is known to humans. Around 18 million km² of land are protected globally, but oceans protect only 10% of this area, though oceans cover 71% of the Earth’s surface. The marine ecosystem can be sub categorized as rocky shores, oceans, estuaries, lagoons, mangroves, salt marshes, intertidal zones coral reefs, the deep sea, sea floor and submarine canyons. It includes the coastal areas and supports the productive and protective habitats which include mangroves,

Sorus: cluster of spores.

Air bladders: are the organs which assist floating in Fucus, it is present in the blade of the thalli. On kelp, floats: float-assist organ are present between lamina and stipe.

The blade and stipe are collectively known as fronds. A few seaweeds have gas in the fronds that help them to maintain buoyance and float at or near the surface.

Bioactive Principles:

Bioactive molecules obtained from natural sources are gaining importance in the field of natural product discovery Marine plants such as seaweeds are less exploited for the bioactive molecules discovery while the terrestrial plants are being widely used (Hudson et al., 1999). On comparing the terrestrial vegetation, the marine floras are considered as valuable sources for drug development (de Vries and Beart, 1995).

Numerous macro algae produce bioactive metabolites in stimuli to ecological pressures such as ability to reproduce and competition for space. These seaweeds are little studied on the basis of food and fertilizer (konig et al., 1994). New chemical substrates are being isolated from these worldwide. In contrast to that Indian subcontinent possesses enormous seaweed vegetation and research on the seaweed is