THE PLANKTON, AS IMPORTANT AS THE AIR WE BREATH
En colaboración con Natalia Llopis
The oceans are fundamental for the health of the planet. Their waters cover the 71% of the earth surface, it’s not strange that the Earth is known as the blue planet.
In the ocean live a wide variety of creatures, one of them the plankton. In a underwater world made up by multicolored organisms that can barely be seen with the naked eye, he is possibly the most important of them all.
The plankton, from the Greek “tramp”, is formed by little wandering beings that are aimless, and incapable of fighting the sea currents. Most of them are microscopic, although there are some like the jellyfish (which is also plankton) that can be seen.
Planktonic organisms are divided into two main groups. Phytoplankton, which is made up of other photosynthetic organisms, is what we know as plants on earth and zooplankton, which is made up of small animals. They are so small that in a drop of water there could be thousands of them!
Although they is very small, they plays a fundamental role in the life on Earth. There are countless species, with an unknown diversity, from spheres to complex geometrical shaped ones each one of them does a unique job and its needed to maintain the equilibrium in the ocean.
He is in charge of 20% of the photosynthesis on earth and represents somewhere around 95% of the biomass on the ocean. He I also food for many species like fishes, sharks, marine mammals and indirectly, us. Without him, the oceans would have been deserts without water or life.
If that was not enough, it uses the solar energy to transform carbon dioxide in oxygen.
Now take a deep breath. For real, breathe again. 50% of the oxygen that just got into your lungs is a gift from the plankton.
Down there is a fascinating world, the fact that we don’t see it doesn’t mean that we don’t need to protect it, don’t forget that this organisms provide us with our essentials to be able to live. What can we give them in return?
More interesting stories:
Leave a comment