Marine Engg bt2021

VEL TECH VEL TECH MULTI TECH VEL TECH HIGH TECH
UNIT I
INTRODUCTION TO MARINE ENVIRONMENT
PART-A (2 MARKS)
1.Name the fve oceans of the world.
Pacifc Ocean, which separates Asia and Australia from the Americas
Atlantic Ocean, which separates the Americas from Eurasia and Africa
Indian Ocean, which washes upon southern Asia and separates Africa and Australia
Southern Ocean (proposed) or Antarctic Ocean, sometimes considered an extension of
Pacifc, Atlantic and Indian Oceans,
[6]
which covers the waters that surround Antarctica.
Arctic Ocean, sometimes considered a sea of the Atlantic, which covers much of the Arctic
and washes upon northern North America and Eurasia.
2.Name the seven seas of the world.
The Mediterranean Sea, including its marginal seas, notably the Aegean Sea.
The Adriatic Sea
The Black Sea
The Red Sea, including the closed Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee
The Arabian Sea (which is part of the Indian Ocean)
The Persian Gulf
The Caspian Sea
3.Defne Ocean current.
An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of ocean water generated by the
forces acting upon this mean fow, such as breaking waves, wind, Coriolis force, temperature and
salinity diferences and tides caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun. Depth
contours, shoreline confgurations and interaction with other currents infuence a current's
direction and strength.
4.What are the physical properties of sea water?
Temperature
1
Pressure
Salinity
Density
Viscosity
Compressibility
5.Defne biotic factor.
Biotic components are the living things that shape an ecosystem. A biotic factor is any
living component that afects another organism, including animals that consume the organism in
question, and the living food that the organism consumes. Biotic factors include human infuence.
Biotic components usually include:
Producers, i.e. autotrophs: e.g. plants; they convert the energy (from the sun, or other
sources such as hydrothermal vents) into food.
Consumers, i.e. heterotrophs: e.g. animals; they depend upon producers for food.
Decomposers, i.e. detritivores: e.g. fungi and bacteria; they break down chemicals from
producers and consumers into simpler form which can be reused
6.Defne abiotic factor.
Abiotic components are non-living chemical and physical factors in the environment .
Abiotic environmental factors of aquatic ecosystems include temperature, salinity, and fow.
7.Defne Pelagic Zone.

Any water in the sea that is not close to the bottom or near to the shore is in the pelagic zone. The
word pelagic comes from the Greek, which means "open sea."
Pelagic zone can be further divided into
Photic zone
Epipelagic
Aphotic zone
mesopelagic
bathyalpelagic
abyssopelagic
hadalpelagic

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8.Write a note on Benthic Zone.

The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean
or a lake, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. Organisms living in this
zone are called benthos. They generally live in close relationship with the substrate bottom; many
such organisms are permanently attached to the bottom. The superfcial layer of the soil lining the
given body of water, the benthic boundary layer, is an integral part of the benthic zone, as it
infuences greatly the biological activity which takes place there. Examples of contact soil layers
include sand bottoms, rock outcrops, coral, and bay mud.
9.Write a note on demersal zone.
The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) comprising the water column that
is near to (and is signifcantly afected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just
above the benthic zone and forms a layer of the larger profundal zone.
10.Defne food chain.

Food chains and food webs are representations of the predator-prey relationships between
species within an ecosystem or habitat.
A group of organisms interrelated by the fact that each member of the group feeds upon on
the one below it and is in turn eaten by the organism above it in the chain.
11.Defne food web.

Networks of food chains or feeding relationships by which energy and nutrients are passed on
from one specie of living organisms to another.
PART-B (16 MARKS)
1.Explain about the oceans of the world.
An ocean (from Greek , " okeanos" Oceanus
[1]
) is a major body of saline water, and a
principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 70.9% of the Earth's surface (~3.61 x 10
8
km
2
) is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several
principal oceans and smaller seas.
More than half of this area is over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) deep. Average oceanic salinity is
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around 35 parts per thousand (ppt) (3.5%), and nearly all seawater has a salinity in the range of 30
to 38 ppt. Scientists estimate that 230,000 marine life forms of all types are currently known, but
the total could be up to 10 times that number.
The major oceanic divisions are defned in part by the continents, various archipelagos, and
other criteria. These divisions are (in descending order of size):
Pacifc Ocean, which separates Asia and Australia from the Americas
Atlantic Ocean, which separates the Americas from Eurasia and Africa
Indian Ocean, which washes upon southern Asia and separates Africa and Australia
Southern Ocean (proposed) or Antarctic Ocean, sometimes considered an extension of
Pacifc, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, which covers the waters that surround Antarctica.
Arctic Ocean, sometimes considered a sea of the Atlantic, which covers much of the Arctic
and washes upon northern North America and Eurasia.
The Pacifc and Atlantic may be further subdivided by the equator into northern and southern
portions. Smaller regions of the oceans are called seas, gulfs, bays, straits and other names.
Pacifc ocean:
The world's largest geographic feature, the Pacifc Ocean covers more than 166 million
square kilometers (more than 64 million square miles)about one-third of the earth's surface. The
area of the Pacifc is greater than that of all of the continents combined, and it makes up nearly
half of the area covered by the earth's oceans.
Some of the current issues include
Endangered marine species include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and whales; oil
pollution in Philippine Sea and South China Sea.
Atlantic Ocean:
The Atlantic Ocean is considered a passive margin ocean with most of its geological activity
centered along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Most of its coastal regions are low and geologically quiet.
The Atlantics major marginal seas include the Mediterranean Sea, the North Sea, the Baltic Sea,
Hudson Bay, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea. The Atlantic covers an area of 82 million
square kilometers (32 million square miles). It has an average depth of 3,600 meters (11,812 feet).
Its greatest depth is in the Puerto Rico Trench at 8,605 meters (28,231 feet).
Endangered marine species include the manatee, seals, sea lions, turtles, and whales; driftnet
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fshing is exacerbating declining fsh stocks and contributing to international disputes; municipal
sludge pollution of eastern U.S., southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution in
Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North Sea; industrial
waste and municipal sewage pollution in Baltic Sea, North Sea, and Mediterranean Sea.
Indian Ocean:
The smallest of the three major oceans, the Indian Ocean covers an area of about 73 million
square kilometers (about 28 million square miles) - about 20 percent of the total area covered by
the world's oceans. The average depth of the Indian Ocean is 3,890 meters (12,762 feet). Its deepest
point is the Java trench, at 7,725 m.
Endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in the
Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea .
Antartic Ocean:
The Southern Ocean, designated as such in 2000, is a body of water that lies between 60 degrees
south latitude and the Antarctica coastline. It's coordinates nominally are 65 00 S, 0 00 E, but the
Southern Ocean has the unique distinction of being a large circumpolar body of water totally
encircling the continent of Antarctica. This ring of water lies between 60 degrees south latitude
and the coast of Antarctica, and encompasses 360 degrees of longitude. The Southern Ocean is
now the fourth largest of the world's fve oceans (after the Pacifc Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and
Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean).
Impacts of global warming, ocean currents, environment and climate change research, fsheries.
Arctic Ocean:
A smooth, pale-blue layer of polar pack ice edged by jagged chunks of foating ice covers
much of the frigid waters of the Arctic Ocean, the earths northernmost cap. With an area of 12
million square kilometers (5 million square miles), the Arctic Ocean is the smallest ocean - more
than fve times smaller than the Indian and Atlantic oceans.
Some of the current issues include -
Endangered marine species include walruses and whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and
slow to recover from disruptions or damage.
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1.Explain about the seas of the world.
The major seas of the world are
The Mediterranean Sea, including its marginal seas, notably the Aegean Sea.
The Adriatic Sea
The Black Sea
The Red Sea, including the closed Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee
The Arabian Sea (which is part of the Indian Ocean)
The Persian Gulf
The Caspian Sea
Mediterranean sea:
The term Mediterranean derives from the Latin word mediterraneus, meaning "in the
middle of earth" or "between lands" (medius, "middle, between" + terra, "land, earth"). This is on
account of the sea's intermediary position between the continents of Africa and Europe The
Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean
region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south
by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant. The sea is technically a part of the Atlantic Ocean,
although it is usually identifed as a completely separate body of water.
The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning "inland" or "in
the middle of the earth" (from medius, "middle" and terra, "earth"). It covers an approximate area of
2.5 million km (965,000 sq mi), but its connection to the Atlantic (the Strait of Gibraltar) is only
14 km (8.7 mi) wide. In oceanography, it is sometimes called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the
European Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere.
The Mediterranean Sea has an average depth of 1,500 m (4,900 ft) and the deepest recorded
point is 5,267 m (17,280 ft) in the Calypso Deep in the Ionian Sea.
It was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times that allowed for trade
and cultural exchange between emergent peoples of the region the Mesopotamian, Egyptian,
Phoenician, Carthaginian, Iberian, Greek, Macedonian, Illyrian, Thracian, Levantine, Gallic,
Roman, Albanian, Armenian, Arabic, Berber, Jewish, Slavic and Turkish cultures. The history of
the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many
modern societies. "For the three quarters of the globe, the Mediterranean Sea is similarly the
uniting element and the centre of World History.
The Mediterranean Sea is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the Strait of Gibraltar on the
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west and to the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea, by the Dardanelles and the Bosporus
respectively, on the east. The Sea of Marmara is often considered a part of the Mediterranean Sea,
whereas the Black Sea is generally not. The 163 km (101 mi) long man-made Suez Canal in the
southeast connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea.
Large islands in the Mediterranean include Cyprus, Crete, Euboea, Rhodes, Lesbos, Chios
etc. The climate is a typical Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters.
Crops of the region include olives, grapes, oranges, tangerines, and cork.
Pollution in this region has been extremely high in recent years. The United Nations
Environment Programme has estimated that 650,000,000 t (720,000,000 short tons) of sewage,
129,000 t (142,000 short tons) of mineral oil, 60,000 t (66,000 short tons) of mercury, 3,800 t (4,200
short tons) of lead and 36,000 t (40,000 short tons) of phosphates are dumped into the
Mediterranean each year. The Barcelona Convention aims to 'reduce pollution in the
Mediterranean Sea and protect and improve the marine environment in the area, thereby
contributing to its sustainable development. Many marine species have been almost wiped out
because of the sea's pollution. One of them is the Mediterranean Monk Seal which is considered to
be among the world's most endangered marine mammals.
The Mediterranean is also plagued by marine debris. A 1994 study of the seabed using
trawl nets around the coasts of Spain, France and Italy reported a particularly high mean
concentration of debris; an average of 1,935 items per km. Plastic debris accounted for 76%, of
which 94% was plastic bags.
The Alboran Sea is a transition zone between the two seas, containing a mix of
Mediterranean and Atlantic species. The Alboran Sea has the largest population of Bottlenose
Dolphins in the western Mediterranean, is home to the last population of harbour porpoises in the
Mediterranean, and is the most important feeding grounds for Loggerhead Sea Turtles in Europe.
The Alboran sea also hosts important commercial fsheries, including sardines and swordfsh. In
2003, the World Wildlife Fund raised concerns about the widespread drift net fshing endangering
populations of dolphins, turtles, and other marine animals.
Adriatic Sea:
The Adriatic Sea (pronounced / edri tk/ ) is a body of water separating the Italian
Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the
Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges. The Adriatic Sea is a northwest-to-southeast arm of the
Mediterranean Sea.The western coast is Italian, while the eastern coast runs along Slovenia
(47 km), Croatia (5,835 km) , Bosnia and Herzegovina (26 km), Montenegro (294 km), and Albania.
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Major rivers joining the Adriatic are the Reno, Po, Adige/Etsch, Brenta, Piave, Soa/Isonzo,
Zrmanja, Krka, Cetina, Neretva, and Drin (Drini).
The Adriatic extends northwest from 40 to 4545' North, with an extreme length of about
770 km (415 nm, 480 mi). It has an average width of about 160 km (85 nm, 100 mi), although the
Strait of Otranto, through which it connects at the south with the Ionian Sea, is only 45-55 nautical
miles wide (85100 km).
[3]
The depths of the Adriatic near its shores share a close relationship to the physiography of
the nearby coastlines. Wherever the coasts are high and mountainous, the nearby sea depths are
considerable. For instance, in the case of the Istrian and Dalmatian areas of Slovenia and Croatia.,
the shores are low and sandy, and the nearby sea is shallow, as in the vicinity of Venice or, farther
south, near the delta of the Italian Po River. Generally speaking, the waters are shallow all along
the Italian coast. The site of maximum depth of the Adriatic Sea is situated south of the central
area, and the average depth is 1,457 feet (444 m) and maximum depth is 3,300 feet (1,000 m).
Black Sea:
The Black Sea is an inland sea bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is
ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas and various
straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles
connects it to the Aegean Sea region of the Mediterranean. These waters separate eastern Europe
and western Asia. The Black Sea also connects to the Sea of Azov by the Strait of Kerch.
The Black Sea has an area of 436,400 km
2
(168,500 sq mi) (not including the Sea of Azov), a
maximum depth of 2,206 m (7,238 ft), and a volume of 547,000 km
3
(131,200 cu mi). The Black Sea
forms in an east-west trending elliptical depression which lies between Bulgaria, Georgia,
Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. It is constrained by the Pontic Mountains to the south, the
Caucasus Mountains to the east and features a wide shelf to the north-west. The longest east-west
extent is about 1,175 km.
The Black Sea supports an active and dynamic marine ecosystem, dominated by species
suited to the brackish, nutrient-rich, conditions. As with all marine food webs, the Black Sea
features a range of trophic groups, with autotrophic algae, including diatoms and dinofagellates,
acting as primary producers. The fuvial systems draining Eurasia and central Europe introduce
large volumes of sediment and dissolved nutrients into the Black Sea, but distribution of these
nutrients is controlled by the degree of physiochemical stratifcation, which is, in turn, dictated by
seasonal physiographic development. During winter, strong wind promotes convective
overturning and upwelling of nutrients, while high summer temperatures result in a marked
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vertical stratifcation and a warm, shallow mixed layer. Day length and insolation intensity also
controls the extent of the photic zone. Subsurface productivity is limited by nutrient availability, as
the anoxic bottom waters act as a sink for reduced nitrate, in the form of ammonia. The benthic
zone also plays an important role in Black Sea nutrient cycling, as chemosynthetic organisms and
anoxic geochemical pathways recycle nutrients which can be upwelled to the photic zone,
enhancing productivity.
Red Sea:
The Red Sea (alternatively "Arabian Gulf") is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying
between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb
strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the
Gulf of Suez (leading to the Suez Canal). The Red Sea is a Global 200 ecoregion.
Occupying a part of the Great Rift Valley, the Red Sea has a surface area of roughly
438,000 km (169,100 square miles ). It is about 2250 km (1398 miles) long and, at its widest point,
is 355 km (220.6 miles) wide. It has a maximum depth of 2211 metres (7254 feet) in the central
median trench, and an average depth of 490 metres (1,608 feet). However, there are also extensive
shallow shelves, noted for their marine life and corals. The sea is the habitat of over 1,000
invertebrate species, and 200 soft and hard corals. It is the world's northernmost tropical sea.
The Red Sea is one of the most saline bodies of water in the world, due to high evaporation.
Salinity ranges from between ~36 in the southern part due to the efect of the Gulf of Aden
water and reaches 41 in the northern part, due mainly to the Gulf of Suez water and the high
evaporation. The average salinity is 40 . (Average salinity for the world's seawater is ~35 .)
The Red Sea is a rich and diverse ecosystem. More than 1200 species of fsh. have been
recorded in the Red Sea, and around 10% of these are found nowhere else. This also includes 42
species of deepwater fsh.The rich diversity is in part due to the 2,000 km (1,240 mi) of coral reef
extending along its coastline; these fringing reefs are 50007000 years old and are largely formed
of stony acropora and porites corals. The reefs form platforms and sometimes lagoons along the
coast and occasional other features such as cylinders (such as the Blue Hole (Red Sea) at Dahab).
These coastal reefs are also visited by pelagic species of red sea fsh, including some of the 44
species of shark.
The Red Sea also contains many ofshore reefs including several true atolls. Many of the
unusual ofshore reef formations defy classic (i.e., Darwinian) coral reef classifcation schemes,
and are generally attributed to the high levels of tectonic activity that characterize the area.
The special biodiversity of the area is recognized by the Egyptian government, who set up
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the Ras Mohammed National Park in 1983. The rules and regulations governing this area protect
local marine life, which has become a major draw for diving enthusiasts.
Divers and snorkellers should be aware that although most Red Sea species are innocuous,
a few are hazardous to humans: see Red Sea species hazardous to humans.Other marine habitats
include sea grass beds, salt pans, mangroves and salt marshes.
In terms of mineral resources the major constituents of the Red Sea sediments are as follows:
Biogenic constituents:
Nanofossils, foraminifera, pteropods, siliceous fossils
Volcanogenic constituents:
Tuftes, volcanic ash, montmorillonite, cristobalite, zeolites
Terrigenous constituents:
Quartz, feldspars, rock fragments, mica, heavy minerals, clay minerals
Authigenic minerals:
Sulfde minerals, aragonite, Mg-calcite, protodolomite, dolomite, quartz, chalcedony.
Evaporite minerals:
Magnesite, gypsum, anhydrite, halite, polyhalite
Brine precipitate:
Fe-montmorillonite, goethite, hematite, siderite, rhodochrosite, pyrite, sphalerite,anhydrite.
Arabian Sea:
The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the
north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by
a line between Cape Guardafui in the northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India. Some of
the ancient names of this body of water include Sindhu Sagar (Sea of Sindh) and Erythraean Sea.
The Arabian Sea's surface area is about 3,862,000 km
2
(1,491,130 sq mi).
[1]
The maximum
width of the Arabian Sea is approximately 2,400 km (1,490 mi), and its maximum depth is
4,652 metres (15,262 ft), in the Arabian Basin approximately at the same latitude as the
southernmost tip of India. The largest river fowing into the Arabian Sea is the Indus River; others
include the Netravathi, Sharavathi, Narmada, Tapti, Mahi, and the numerous rivers of Kerala. The
Arabian Sea coast of central India is known as the Konkan Coast, and that of southern India is
known as the Malabar Coast.The prince of India Imran Chowdhury own this peace of land.
The Arabian Sea has two important branches the Gulf of Aden in the southwest, connecting
with the Red Sea through the strait of Bab-el-Mandeb; and the Gulf of Oman to the northwest,
connecting with the Persian Gulf. There are also the gulfs of Cambay and Kutch on the Indian
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coast. The largest islands in the Arabian Sea are Socotra (of the Horn of Africa) and Masirah (of
the Omani coast) as well as the Lakshadweep archipelago of the Indian coast.
The countries with coastlines on the Arabian Sea are Somalia, Djibouti, Yemen, Oman, Iran,
Pakistan, India and the Maldives. There are several large cities on the Arabian Sea coast including
Aden, Muscat, Karachi, Surat, Mumbai, Mangalore, Kozhikode, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.
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The Persian Gulf:
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between
Iran (formerly called Persia) and the Arabian Peninsula.
T he Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked
the other's oil tankers. In 1991, the Persian Gulf again was the background for what was called the
"Persian Gulf War" or the "Gulf War" when Iraq invaded Kuwait and was subsequently pushed
back, despite the fact that this confict was primarily a land confict.
This inland sea of some 251,000 km is connected to the Gulf of Oman in the east by the
Strait of Hormuz; and its western end is marked by the major river delta of the Shatt al-Arab,
which carries the waters of the Euphrates and the Tigris. Its length is 989 kilometres, with Iran
covering most of the northern coast and Saudi Arabia most of the southern coast. The Persian Gulf
is about 56 kilometres wide at its narrowest, in the Strait of Hormuz. The waters are overall very
shallow, with a maximum depth of 90 metres and an average depth of 50 metres.
The Persian Gulf and its coastal areas are the world's largest single source of crude oil and
related industries dominate the region. Safaniya Oil Field, the world's largest ofshore oilfeld, is
located in the Persian Gulf. Large gas fnds have also been made with Qatar and Iran sharing a
giant feld across the territorial median line (North Field in the Qatari sector; South Pars Field in
the Iranian sector). Using this gas, Qatar has built up a substantial liquifed natural gas (LNG) and
petrochemical industry.
The oil-rich countries (excluding Iraq) that have a coastline on the Persian Gulf are referred
to as the Persian Gulf States. Iraq's egress to the gulf is narrow and easily blockaded consisting of
the marshy river delta of the Shatt al-Arab, which carries the waters of the uphrates and the Tigris
Rivers, where the East bank is held by Iran.
Wildlife of the Persian Gulf is diverse, and entirely unique due to the gulf's geographic
distribution and its isolation from the international waters only breached by the narrow Strait of
Hormuz. Persian Gulf has hosted some of the most magnifcent marine fauna and fora, some of
which are near extinction or at serious environmental risk. From corals, to dugongs, Persian Gulf
is a diverse craddle for many species many of which depend on each other for survival.
One of the most unique marine mammals living in the Persian Gulf is Dugong dugon, commonly
referred to as the dugong, or the "sea cow." Called "sea cows" for their grazing habits, their mild
manner and resemblance of the livestock, dugongs have a life expectancy similar to that of
humans and can reach lengths of up to 3 meters. These are gentle mammals that feed on the sea
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grass, and genetically resemble the land mammals more than the dolphins and the whales.
Coral is another important inhabitant of the Persian Gulf waters. Corals are vital ecosystems
that support multitude of marine species, and whose health directly refects the health of the gulf.
Recent years have seen a drastic decline in the coral population in the gulf, partially owing to
global warming but majorly due to irresponsible dumping by Arab states like UAE and Bahrain.
Construction garbage such as tires, cement, and chemical by products have found their way to the
Persian Gulf in recent years. Aside from direct damage to the coral, the construction waste creates
"traps" for marine life in which they are trapped and die.
The end result has been a dwindling population of the coral, and as a result a decrease in number
of species that rely on the corals for their survival.
Persian Gulf is also home to many migratory and local birds. There is great variation in
color, size, and type of the bird species that call the gulf home. One bird in particular, the
kalbaensis, a sub-species of the kingfshers is at the brink of extinction due to real state
development by cities such a Dubai and countries such as Oman.
Caspian Sea:
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed
as the world's largest lake or a full-fedged sea. The sea has a surface area of 371,000 km
2
(143,200
sq mi) and a volume of 78,200 km
3
(18,800 cu mi). It is in an endorheic basin (it has no outfows)
and is bounded by northern Iran, southern Russia, western Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, and
eastern Azerbaijan.
The ancient inhabitants of its littoral perceived the Caspian Sea as an ocean, probably
because of its saltiness and seeming boundlessness. It has a salinity of approximately 1.2%, about a
third the salinity of most seawater. The Caspian Sea has been called Gilan on ancient maps. In
Iran, it is sometimes referred to as Dary-ye Mazandaran, meaning "the Sea of Mazandaran" in
Persian.
The Caspian Sea is the largest inland body of water in the world and accounts for 40 to 44
percent of the total lacustrine waters of the world. The coastlines of the Caspian are shared by
Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan. The Caspian is divided into three distinct
physical regions: the Northern, Middle, and Southern Caspian. The North-Middle boundary is the
Mangyshlak Threshold, which runs through Chechen Island and Cape Tiub-Karagan. The Middle-
South boundary is the Apsheron Threshold, a sill of tectonic origin between the Eurasian
continent and an oceanic remnant, that runs through Zhiloi Island and Cape Kuuli.The
Garabogazkl bay is the saline eastern inlet of the Caspian, which is part of Turkmenistan and at
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times has been a lake in its own right due to the isthmus which cuts it of from the Caspian.
Divisions between the three regions are dramatic. The Northern Caspian only includes the
Caspian shelf, and is very shallow; it accounts for less than one percent of the total water volume
with an average depth of only 56 metres (1620 ft). The sea noticeably drops of towards the
Middle Caspian, where the average depth is 190 metres (620 ft). The Southern Caspian is the
deepest, with oceanic depths of over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). The Middle and Southern Caspian
account for 33 percent and 66 percent of the total water volume, respectively. The northern portion
of the Caspian Sea typically freezes in the winter, and in the coldest winters, ice will form in the
south.
The Caspian Sea holds great numbers of sturgeon, which yield eggs that are processed into
caviar. Overfshing has depleted a number of the historic fsheries including the economic
exhaustion of the tuna fshery.In recent years overfshing has threatened the sturgeon population
to the point that environmentalists advocate banning sturgeon fshing completely until the
population recovers. However, the high price of sturgeon caviar allows fsherman to aford bribes
to ensure the authorities look the other way, making regulations in many locations inefective.
Caviar harvesting further endangers the fsh stocks, since it targets reproductive females. The
Caspian Sea along with the Black Sea is also home to the native Zebra mussel, which has been
accidentally introduced and become an invasive species in many countries. The native range of the
Common Carp extends to the Caspian Sea as well as The Black Sea and Aral Sea. Like the Zebra
mussel it also has become an invasive species where it has been introduced.
The Caspian seal, which is endemic to the Caspian Sea, is one of very few seal species that
live in inland waters. The area has given its name to several species of birds, including the Caspian
gull and the Caspian tern. There are several species and subspecies of fsh endemic to the Caspian
Sea, including the kutum, Caspian Marine Shad, Caspian roach, Caspian bream, and a Caspian
"salmon" .The "Caspian salmon" is critically endangered.
1. Describe about the ecological divisions of sea/ocean.
Oceans are divided into numerous regions depending on the physical and biological
conditions of these areas.
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The pelagic zone includes all open ocean regions, and can be subdivided into further
regions categorized by depth and light abundance.
The photic zone covers the oceans from surface level to 200 meters down. This is the region
where the photosynthesis most commonly occurs and therefore contains the largest biodiversity in
the ocean. Since plants can only survive with photosynthesis any life found lower than this must
either rely on material foating down from above (marine snow) or fnd another primary source;
this often comes in the form of hydrothermal vents in what is known as the aphotic zone (all
depths exceeding 200m).
The pelagic part of the photic zone is known as the epipelagic. The pelagic part of the
aphotic zone can be further divided into regions that succeed each other vertically.
The mesopelagic is the uppermost region, with its lowermost boundary at a thermocline of
12C, which, in the tropics generally lies between 700 and 1,000 m.
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After that is the bathypelagic lying between 10C and 4C, or between 700 or 1,000 m and
2,000 or 4,000 m. Lying along the top of the abyssal plain is the abyssalpelagic, whose lower
boundary lies at about 6,000 m. The fnal zone falls into the oceanic trenches, and is known as the
hadalpelagic. This lies between 6,000 m and 10,000 m and is the deepest oceanic zone.
Along with pelagic aphotics zones there are also benthic aphotic zones, these correspond to
the three deepest zones. The bathyal zone covers the continental slope and the rise down to about
4,000 m. The abyssal zone covers the abyssal plains between 4,000 and 6,000 m. Lastly, the hadal
zone corresponds to the hadalpelagic zone which is found in the oceanic trenches. The pelagic
zone can also be split into two subregions, the neritic zone and the oceanic zone. The neritic
encompasses the water mass directly above the continental shelves, while the oceanic zone
includes all the completely open water.
In contrast, the littoral zone covers the region between low and high tide and represents the
transitional area between marine and terrestrial conditions. It is also known as the intertidal zone
because it is the area where tide level afects the conditions of the region.
1.Write a detailed note on ocean current.
An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of ocean water generated by the forces
acting upon this mean fow, such as breaking waves, wind, Coriolis force, temperature and salinity
diferences and tides caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun. Depth contours,
shoreline confgurations and interaction with other currents infuence a current's direction and
strength.
Ocean currents can fow for great distances, and together they create the great fow of the
global conveyor belt which plays a dominant part in determining the climate of many of the
Earths regions. Perhaps the most striking example is the Gulf Stream, which makes northwest
Europe much more temperate than any other region at the same latitude. Another example is the
Hawaiian Islands, where the climate is cooler (sub-tropical) than the tropical latitudes in which
they are located, due to the efect of the California Current.
The Types and Causes of Ocean Currents
In addition to their varying size and strength, ocean currents difer in type. They can be
either surface or deep water.
Surface currents are those found in the upper 400 meters (1,300 feet) of the ocean and make
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up about 10% of all the water in the ocean. Surface currents are mostly caused by the wind
because it creates friction as it moves over the water. This friction then forces the water to move in
a spiral pattern, creating gyres. In the northern hemisphere, gyres move clockwise and in the
southern they spin counterclockwise. The speed of surface currents is greatest closer to the oceans
surface and decreases at about 100 meters (328 ft) below the surface.
Because surface currents travel over long distances, the Coriolis force also plays a role in
their movement and defects them, further aiding in the creation of their circular pattern. Finally,
gravity plays a role in the movement of surface currents because the top of the ocean is uneven.
Mounds in the water form in areas where the water meets land, where water is warmer, or where
two currents converge. Gravity then pushes this water down slope on the mounds and creates
currents.
Deep water currents, also called thermohaline circulation, are found below 400 meters and
make up about 90% of the ocean. Like surface currents, gravity plays a role in the creation of deep
water currents but these are mainly caused by density diferences in the water.
Density diferences are a function of temperature and salinity. Warm water holds less salt
than cold water so it is less dense and rises toward the surface while cold, salt laden water sinks.
As the warm water rises though, the cold water is forced to rise through upwelling and fll the
void left by the warm. By contrast, when cold water rises, it too leaves a void and the rising warm
water is then forced, through downwelling, to descend and fll this empty space, creating
thermohaline circulation.
Thermohaline circulation is known as the Global Conveyor Belt because its circulation of
warm and cold water acts as a submarine river and moves water throughout the ocean.
Finally, seafoor topography and the shape of the oceans basins impact both surface and
deep water currents as they restrict areas where water can move and "funnel" it into another.
The Importance of Ocean Currents
Because ocean currents circulate water worldwide, they have a signifcant impact on the
movement of energy and moisture between the oceans and the atmosphere. As a result, they are
important to the worlds weather. The Gulf Stream for example is a warm current that originates in
the Gulf of Mexico and moves north toward Europe. Since it is full of warm water, the sea surface
temperatures are warm, which keeps places like Europe warmer than other areas at similar
latitudes.
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The Humboldt Current is another example of a current that afects weather. When this cold
current is normally present of the coast of Chile and Peru, it creates extremely productive waters
and keeps the coast cool and northern Chile arid. However, when it becomes disrupted, Chiles
climate is altered and it is believed that El Nio plays a role in its disturbance.
Like the movement of energy and moisture, debris can also get trapped and moved around
the world via currents. This can be man-made which is signifcant to the formation of trash islands
or natural such as icebergs. The Labrador Current, which fows south out of the Arctic Ocean
along the coasts of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, is famous for moving icebergs into shipping
lanes in the North Atlantic.
Currents plan an important role in navigation as well. In addition to being able to avoid
trash and icebergs, knowledge of currents is essential to the reduction of shipping costs and fuel
consumption. Today, shipping companies and even sailing races often use currents to reduce time
spent at sea.
Finally, ocean currents are important to the distribution of the worlds sea life. Many species
rely on currents to move them from one location to another whether it is for breeding or just
simple movement over large areas.
5.Explain about the physical and chemical properties of sea water.
Physical Properties Of Sea Water:
Temperature, pressure, and salinity are the three most important properties of seawater,
and they determine the other physical properties associated with seawater. This difers from pure
water, where only pressure and temperature determine the physical properties. Some of the lesser
known properties include specifc heat, compressibility, osmotic pressure, eddy viscosity, electrical
conductivity, radioactivity, and surface tension. Many of the lesser known properties can only be
determined using complex mathematical calculation and formulation that incorporates data on
one or more of the common physical properties, especially temperature, pressure, and/or salinity.
Temperature
The ocean, like the atmosphere, is heated by the Suns incoming radiation. In all latitudes
the ice-free portions of oceans receive a surplus of radiation. Some of this heat is given up to the
atmosphere, and some of it is retained. Because the sea retains a portion of this heat, the sea-
surface temperature is normally higher than the air temperature. However this is true only when
average conditions are considered. Whether the sea-surface is warmer or colder than the air above
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it at any particular moment in time is dependent upon the locality, the season of the year, the
character of the atmospheric circulation and the character of the ocean currents. The temperature
of the ocean ranges from about 2C to 30C. Ocean water that is nearly surrounded by land may
have higher temperatures, but the open sea, where the water is free to move about, hardly ever
heats above 30C. Here, the ocean currents distribute the heat and tend to equalize the
temperature. Deep and bottom water temperatures are always low, varying between 4C and 1C.
The annual variation of sea-surface temper-ature in any region depends upon the variation
of incoming radiation, the character of the ocean currents, and the character of the atmospheric
circulation. The annual range of surface temperature is much greater over the oceans of the
Northern Hemisphere than those of the Southern Hemisphere. This wider range of temperatures
appears to be associated with the character of the prevailing winds, particularly the cold winds
blowing from the continents. On the other hand, the annual range of ocean temperatures in the
Southern Hemisphere is most defnitely related to the range of incoming solar radiation, because
of the absence of large land masses south of 45S. Here, the prevailing winds travel almost entirely
over water. This brings about a far greater degree of consistency in the annual sea-surface
temperature patterns and a much smaller annual temperature range compared to the Northern
Hemisphere.
The temperatures near the equator experience a semiannual variation. This corresponds to
the twice yearly passage of the Suns most direct rays across the equator.
Sea-surface temperatures change from day to night just like those of the atmosphere, but to
a much lesser degree. The diurnal variation of sea-surface temperature in the open ocean is on the
average only 0.2C to 0.3C. The greatest diurnal variation takes place in the tropics, with lesser
variation at higher latitudes. The range of diurnal variation is dependent on the amount of cloudi-
ness and the direction and speed of the wind.
Salinity
The term salinity is related often to the amount of salt in the water. In oceanography, salinity
is defned as "the total amount of dis-solved solids in seawater." Salinity is measured in parts per
thousand by weight, and is symbolized . The measurement gives us the grams of dis-solved
material per kilogram of seawater.
The salinity values of ocean water range between 33 and 37, with an average of 35 . In
the open ocean, surface salinity is de-creased by precipitation, increased by evap-oration, and
changed by the vertical mixing and infow of adjacent water. Near shore, salinity is generally
reduced by river discharge and fresh-water runof from land. In the colder waters that freeze and
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thaw, salinity generally increases during periods of ice formation and decreases during periods of
ice melt.
Latitudinally, surface salinity varies in a similar manner in all oceans. Maximum salinity
values occur between 20 and 23 north and south, whereas minimum salinity values occur near
the equator and toward higher latitudes. The controlling factor in average surface salinity
distribution is the latitudinal diferences in evaporation and precipitation. Exceptions to this
statement do occur, and local variations should be expected, especially near the mouth of the
larger river systems and in the Atlantic coastal water of the United States, Labrador, Spain, and
Scandinavia. The best known region of strong horizontal salinity gradients is the Grand Banks
region, where warm, saline Gulf Stream water mixes with the colder, less saline water of the
Labrador Current. Here, water with a salinity value as low as 32 may possibly override or lie
adjacent to water having a salinity value greater than 36. A similar situation prevails in the
Pacifc Ocean, where the Kuroshio and Oyashio currents mix.
At latitudes poleward of 40 north and south, where precipitation generally exceeds
evaporation, salinity values tend to increase with depth. Usually during summer, these positive
salinity gradients are accompanied by strong negative temperature gradients and result in very
stable water, especially in the coastal regions. These strong, shallow salinity (and temperature)
gradients persist through the summer.
Pressure:
Pressure beneath the sea surface is measured in decibars. The pressure exerted by 1 meter
of seawater very nearly equals 1 decibar (1/10 of a bar) or 100,000 dynes per square centimeter.
The farther one descends in the sea, the greater the pressure, and since pressure in the ocean is
essentially a function of depth, the numerical value of pressure in decibars approximates the ocean
depth in meters. Therefore, pressure ranges from zero at the surface to over 10,000 decibars in the
deepest parts of the oceans. The pressure is created by the weight of the seawater above. The
weight per unit volume of seawater, in turn, varies with the temperature and salinity. In a column
of water of constant depth, the pressure increases as the temperature of the sea decreases, or the
salinity increases, or both.
Density
The density of seawater is dependent on salinity, temperature, and pressure. At constant
temperature and pressure, density varies with salinity. A temperature of 32F and an at-mospheric
pressure of 1,013.2 mb are considered standard for density determination. At other temperatures
and pressures the efects of thermal expansion and compressibility are used to determine density.
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The density at a particular pressure afects the buoyancy of various objects, notably submarines.
Density is defned as mass per unit volume, and is expressed in grams per cubic centimeter.
The greatest changes in density of seawater occur at the surface. Here, density is decreased
by precipitation, runof from land, melting of ice, or heating. When the surface water becomes less
dense, it tends to foat on top of the more dense water below. There is little tendency for the water
to mix; there-fore, the condition is one of stability. The density of surface water is increased by
evaporation, the formation of sea ice, and cooling. If the surface water becomes more dense than
the water below, it sinks to a level having the same density. Here, it tends to spread out to form a
layer, or to increase the thick-ness of the layer of which it has become a part. As the more dense
water sinks, the less dense water rises, and a convective circula-tion is established. The circulation
continues until the density becomes uniform from the surface to a depth at which a greater
density occurs. If the surface water becomes sufciently dense, it sinks all the way to the bottom. If
this occurs in an area where horizontal fow is unobstructed, the water that has descended spreads
to other regions, creating a dense bottom layer. Since the greatest increase in density occurs in
polar regions, where the air is cold and great quantities of ice form, the cold, dense polar water
sinks to the bottom and then spreads to lower latitudes. This process has continued for such a long
period of time that the entire ocean foor is covered with this dense polar water. This explains the
layer of cold water at great depths in the ocean.
Compressibility
Seawater is nearly incompressible, its coef-cient of compressibility being only 0.000046 per
bar under standard conditions. This value changes slightly with changes in temperature or salinity.
The efect of compression is to force the molecules of the substance closer together, causing the
substance to become more dense. Even though the compressibility of seawater is low, the total
efect is con-siderable because of the amount of water involved. If it were zero, sea level would be
about 90 feet higher than it is now.
Viscosity
Viscosity is resistance to fow. Seawater is slightly more viscous than freshwater, and the
level of resistance is controlled by its temperature and salinity. Viscosity increases when salinity
increases or the water temperature decreases. However, the efect of decreasing temperature is
greater than that of increasing salinity. The resistance rate is not uniform; it increases as the
temperature decreases. Because of the efect of temperature on viscosity, an incompressible object
might sink at a faster rate in warm surface water than in colder subsurface water. For most
compressible objects, viscosity efects may be more than ofset by the compressibility of the object.
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Specifc Heat
In oceanography, specifc heat is the number of calories needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram
of seawater 1C. The specifc heat of seawater decreases slightly as salinity increases. Land heats
and cools much more rapidly than seawater, its specifc heat being much less than that of seawater.
This, in part, accounts for the land having a much greater temperature range than the sea, which
results in monsoons and the familiar land and sea breezes of tropical and temperate regions.
The ratio of specifc heat to seawater at a constant pressure and constant volume has a
direct relationship to the speed of sound in water.
Thermal Expansion
Liquids expand and contract when temperature changes take place; some more than others.
Seawater has a higher coefcient of expansion than that of freshwater. Within the sea, the
coefcient of thermal expansion is efected by salinity, temperature, and pressure. It is greater in
high salinity water; greater in warm water than in cold (under similar salinity conditions); and it
increases with increasing depth under constant temperature and salinity conditions.
Chemical composition of sea water:
Seawater is mostly (~96.5%) water, but it contains important amounts of dissolved salts
(~3.5%), which are mostly, but not all, sodium chloride, which is identical to table salt. The unique
chemical properties of seawater mean that it is a drastically diferent living environment than fresh
water, and many families that live in seawater have never adapted to live in fresh water. Species
adapted to fresh water, such as fsh in landlocked lakes in Africa, cannot survive in salty seawater.
Seawater is about 2.5% denser than fresh water.
Aside from calcium chloride salts, seawater also contains sulfates (7.7% of dissolved salts),
magnesium (3.7%), calcium (1.2%), potassium (1.1%), and minor constituents (0.7%), including
trace amounts of inorganic carbon (0.2%), bromide (0.08%), uranium (0.00000001%), and gold
(similar amount). Various schemes have been proposed to extract uranium or gold from seawater,
but neither has proved economically viable. Fritz Haber, the German scientist known for his
invention of the Haber process and Zyklon poison gas, spent the last years of his life attempting to
come up with an efcient way of extracting large quantities of gold from seawater so that
Germany could pay of its war debts. Of course, this efort failed.
The origin of the salts in seawater are both the land and salts that were present on the
surface of the Earth when the oceans frst formed, which could have been as soon as 100 million
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years after the Earth's formation. The theory that the salts in seawater derive from rainwater runof
originated with Sir Edmund Halley in 1715. Specifcally, the sodium in the ocean's sodium
chloride is mostly derived from when the oceans were formed, and the chloride comes from
volcanic outgassing on the ocean foors.
It is well known that seawater is dangerous for human consumption. Because seawater
contains 3.5% salt, and the human body strictly keeps sodium chloride at 0.9% of the blood by
weight, the kidneys must expend extra water to dissolve the excess salts. According to historical
data of life raft voyages, the chance of death for those that drink seawater is about 39%, while the
chance of death for those that don't is only 3%. When lost at sea, scientists instead recommend
drinking seawater mixed with fresh water, in a 1:2 ratio, slowly increasing as the fresh water runs
out. This is milder than the metabolic impact of switching from fresh to pure seawater and
increases the likelihood of survival.
6.write a detailed notes on history of marine biology.
Marine Biology
Marine Biology is the scientifc study of animals, plants and other organisms that live in the
ocean. About 71% of the surface of this planet is covered by salt water. On an average the ocean
water depth is 3.8 km that is about 2.4 miles or 12,500 feet, with a volume of about 1,370 x 106
km3. Since life exists throughout this immense volume, the oceans constitute the single largest
repository of organisms on the planet. These organisms include members of virtually all phyla and
are tremendously varied.
Marine Biology is the study of the living resources of the world's oceans and coastal seas. In
tropical regions, shallow water environments support rich and diverse biological communities.
These include coral reefs, mangrove and sea grass habitats. Training in Marine Biology is central to
the study of these diverse assemblages of plants and animals and is the key to understanding their
relationships and evaluating human infuence on marine ecosystems.
History of Marine Biology and Oceanography
Phoenician colonies and voyages
Human populations through time have often fourished near the sea, partly because of the food
resources that can be found there, but also because of the ease of transportation of people and
cargo by boats. Observations about various organisms and environments were of course a major
part of human activities since the earliest times, since the very survival of early Homo sapiens
depended on this knowledge to obtain food and provide defense against dangerous plants and
animals. Near the end of the Bronze Age, the Egyptians were not a maritime people, and the
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Greek and Hebrew civilizations had not yet developed to the point where they could make
extensive sea voyages (and no written records are known from that time). The Phoenicians,
however, were accomplished navigators and sailors, and made voyages throughout the
Mediterranean for the establishment of colonies and commerce. They made voyages outside the
Straits of Gibraltar, into the Atlantic, and made extensive voyages along the coast of Africa. They
apparently recognized the higher tides of the Atlantic, and considered the possibility of a water
mass that surrounded all lands. During the Bronze Age, the Minoans of Crete and later the
Mycenaean Greeks must also have made voyages within the Mediterranean. The Homeric poems
(written several hundred years later by Homer, as the Iliad and Odyssey), describe events around
1200 BC, and involve fairly extensive sea voyages (at least for that era).
Homers conception of the world during the Heroic era
After the Mycenean civilization collapsed in the twelfth century BC, Greece entered a dark
age about which little is known until about the eighth century BC. The map at left shows the world
known to Homer at about that time, and shows that knowledge of the seas was centered in the
Aegean, and extended generally throughout the eastern Mediterranean. The Greeks of that time
imagined the world to be a large disk with upturned edges, with the center of the disk in the
Aegean, surrounded by a river. Although the Phoenicians had traveled into the Atlantic centuries
earlier, the Greeks were probably unfamiliar with the Atlantic Ocean, or any seas beyond the
Mediterranean. Between the eighth and sixth centuries BC, Greeks of the historic period began
voyaging more extensively beyond the Aegean, although not venturing out of the Mediterranean
until the fourth century BC. The Carthaginians (descended from the Phoenicians) also made
extensive voyages during this time, both to the south along Africa and Northward along the coasts
of Northern Europe. They may also have reached as far west as the Sargasso Sea. In the seventh
century BC, the Egyptian Pharoah Necho sent Phoenician voyagers on what may have been a
complete circumnavigation of Africa. However, most voyages of this era and earlier were not
intended to investigate natural phenomena beyond what was necessary for navigation to distant
lands.
Aristotle
About this time, however, observations of natural phenomena related to the seas and oceans
began to be written down. Herodotus, around 450 BC, wrote of the regular tides in the Persian
Gulf, the deposition of silt in the Nile Delta, and uses the term "Atlantic" for the frst time to
describe the western seas. In the fourth century, the Phocaean colonists of Massila (Marseilles),
sent the Greek astronomer Pytheas on a voyage out of the Pillars of Hercules (Gibraltar), where he
traveled to Britain, Germany, and the Baltic Sea. He describes conditions in a distant far northern
sea, which may have been in the Arctic (he describes it as having a 24 hour day at the summer
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solstice), as thick and gelatinous like a jellyfsh (these waters are at times thick with gelatinous
organisms of various kinds).
Written records of signifcant biological observations concerning marine organisms began
with the early Greek philosophers, most notably Aristotle. Aristotle (384-322 BC) was the most
famous student of Plato's. Plato considered intuition as the basis of knowledge. Aristotle, however,
disagreed with his teacher and the Platonic school, and felt that accurate observation and
description of nature, as well as inductive reasoning and interpretation, were the only way to
advance understanding of the natural world. Thus although Aristotle made many observations
that were relatively accurate, his greatest contribution to science was his approach, which was the
forerunner of the modern scientifc method. More remarkably, Aristotle had no real teachers,
predecessors, or body of scientifc knowledge to build on, - he was literally the frst (of record) to
begin such studies, thus earning the title of "Father of Natural History". He himself was quite
aware of his position as one of the frst of his kind, and also of the humble nature of these frst
studies, - he wrote:
" I found no basis prepared; no models to copy... Mine is the frst step, and therefore a small
one, though worked out with much thought and hard labor. It must be looked at as a frst step and
judged with indulgence."
Aristotle made a number of important contributions to oceanography and marine biology.
The second book of his Meteorology begins with what is essentially a treatise on oceanography.
He regarded the earth as a sphere (contrary to the popular view at the time that the earth was
circular), since things gravitated towards the center, and because of the shadow cast by the earth
during eclipses.
Aristotle was also the frst to record speculations about the bathymetry of the various seas.
He also recognized that the seas and continents are slowly changing through time, remarking that
the Sea of Azov was slowly flling and would eventually become land. Aristotle also described and
named 24 species of crustaceans and annelid worms, 40 species of molluscs and echinoderms, and
116 species of fsh (all from the Aegean Sea). He recognized cetaceans (dolphins, whales, etc.) as
mammals, and accurately described many groups of vertebrates as oviparous or viviparous.
Until the renaissance period, very few original studies were carried out, since it was the
prevailing view that Aristotle had already discovered and described everything there was to know
about natural history. However, a number of Arabian scientists, as well as some monks in Italy,
Britain and elsewhere, translated and preserved classical studies such as Aristotle's, and
conducted limited investigations in natural history.
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Renewed interest in natural history began to increase by the 16th century, and over the next
few hundred years there were many studies carried out by what we would today call amateur
naturalists. These were usually professional men in other felds, often physicians or explorers, but
generally were individuals not specifcally employed to carry out natural history studies. Notable
among these are the explorations of Humboldt and of James Cook, who made extensive voyages
and observations of the natural world.
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Edward Forbes
A British naturalist, Edward Forbes (1815-1854) is considered by many to be the founder of
the science of oceanography and marine biology. Unfortunately, he is best known for his "azoic
theory", which stated that marine life did not exist on seabeds at depths over 300 fathoms (1800
feet). This was soon to be disproved, but does not diminish the many signifcant accomplishments
of his career. A surgeon and amateur naturalist of about the same time, J. Vaughan Thomson,
collected and studied marine plankton of the Irish coast (and was the frst to describe the
planktonic stages of crabs) in 1828. In general, the pace of oceanographic and marine biological
studies quickly accelerated during the course of the 19th century.
Charles Darwin
One of the early professional naturalists that made signifcant contributions to marine
biology was Charles Darwin. Darwin, most famous for his later works on theories of evolution,
was commissioned early in life as a naturalist on the H.M.S. Beagle expeditions (1831-1836).
Darwin collected and studied numerous marine organisms during this famous voyage, which
eventually lead to his famous subsidence theory of coral reef formation (for atolls), and a
classifcation of barnacles that is still useful today. Observations he made on the Beagle expedition
also provided him with the ideas that he later used to formulate his theory of evolution and
natural selection.
H.M.S. Challenger
The British ship HMS Challenger investigated the oceans worldwide in 1872-1876, fnding a
large number of new species. Sir Charles Wyville Thomson (Professor of Natural History at the
University of Edinburgh, and director of the civilian scientifc staf on the Challenger) published
the fndings of the Challenger expedition in a series known as the Challenger Reports.
U.S.S. Alabtross
Until the middle of this century, marine biologists relied primarily on nets, grabs, and
dredges to collect samples in almost every marine habitat except the intertidal zone, where
collections could also be made by hand and organisms could be directly observed. As an example
of the ships and techniques, the U.S.S. Albatross of the United States Fish Commission carried out
a number of expeditions from 1887 to 1925. Some of the equipment used on the Albatross are
pictured below.
In 1934, zoologists William Beebe and Otis Barton were the frst to observe relatively deep-
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sea habitats directly aboard the "bathysphere", which remained tethered to a surface ship during
the entire dive. They reached a depth of 923 meters (3,072 feet). The advents of modern Self
Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (SCUBA), underwater photography, and manned
submersibles have allowed us to see frsthand much of the marine environment that we previously
could not observe. The development of a wide variety of electronic measuring devices and
instruments, unmanned submersibles, and remote sensing by satellites and aircraft has also
greatly increased our ability to measure and study parts of the marine environment that are
difcult to observe in person. Even so, because of logistical problems associated with conducting
research in much of the marine environment, our knowledge of conditions in most of the seas and
oceans lags behind our knowledge of the terrestrial environment.
7. Explain marine food chain with a neat sketch.
Food chains are overly simplistic as representatives of the relationships of living organisms
in nature. Most consumers feed on multiple species and in turn, are fed upon by multiple other
species. Phytoplankton is the frst level of our food chain, followed by the zooplankton, which
feeds on the phytoplankton. The zooplankton are then eaten by krill, fsh and other crustaceans,
which all go on to be eaten by big fsh, penguins, seals, walruses and whales. The food chain
continues when these are eaten by mammals like polar bears.
Plants and animals must have organic carbon to survive. Organic carbon has high-energy
chemical bonds which are broken to provide metabolic energy. For example, humans eat organic
carbon in the form of green beans and chicken.Just like humans, plants and animals in the ocean
require organic carbon.
How do they get it? There are only two ways. They either produce their own or make use
of organic carbon produced by others. Species that make their own organic carbon are called
"primary producers". They are the base of the marine food web because all other species depend
on their productivity either directly or indirectly to survive. In most parts of the ocean, primary
producers are marine plants, typically algae. These are the phytoplankton (phyto =
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plant; plankton = foating). They live in the sunlit portions of the ocean and use energy from the
sun to convert inorganic carbon into organic carbon.
Phytoplankton(Primary Producers): These are the single-celled marine plants that live on
the sunlit upper layers of the ocean, the "euphotic zone". Phytoplankton include dinofagellates,
coccolithophores and diatoms. The phytoplankton are known as the primary producers of food
because they use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and the other nutrients into carbohydrates
that are used by the marine creatures. Ninety-fve percent of the primary food is derived from the
phytoplankton.
Zooplankton(Primary Consumers): The small foating animals known as zooplankton eat the
phytoplankton. Shrimp, copepods, jellyfsh, mollusc are some of the examples of zooplankton. The
larger zooplankton eat the smaller zooplankton.
Small Bait Fish(secondary consumers): Examples of small bait fshes include sardines, crabs,
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lobsters and herrings. These fshes eat zooplankton and the larger fshes of the ocean in turn eat
them.
Large Fish: Shark, sword fsh, tuna and octopus are examples of large fshes. The larger fshes feed
on smaller fshes.
Predators: The predators of the ocean include whales, sharks, killer whales and so on. The
predators form the fourth layer of the ocean food chain. The predators during their feeding season
feed not only on the larger fshes, but also on the members of their species or groups.
The sea mammals such as seal, walrus, sea lion and dolphin also help to maintain the ocean
food chain. Oceanography and marine science unravels many an unsolved mystery, which
fascinate mankind even today.
8.Explain marine food web with a neat sketch.
Plants and animals must have organic carbon to survive. Organic carbon has high-energy
chemical bonds which are broken to provide metabolic energy. For example, humans eat organic
carbon in the form of green beans and chicken, but we couldn't survive if we only had diamonds
to eat. Diamonds are made from carbon, but it is the wrong kind - inorganic carbon. Just like
humans, plants and animals in the ocean require organic carbon.
How do they get it? There are only two ways. They either produce their own or make use
of organic carbon produced by others. Species that make their own organic carbon are called
"primary producers". They are the base of the marine food web because all other species depend
on their productivity either directly or indirectly to survive. In most parts of the ocean, primary
producers are marine plants, typically algae. These are the phytoplankton (phyto = plant; plankton
= foating). They live in the sunlit portions of the ocean and use energy from the sun to convert
inorganic carbon into organic carbon.
How do primary producers generate organic carbon? The most common way by far is
through a chemical reaction called photosynthesis. Phytoplankton, benthic plants or bacteria use
energy from the sun to convert inorganic CO
2
and water to organic carbon and free oxygen.
Alternatively, organic carbon may be created through a process called chemosynthesis. However
this reaction produces only a small portion of the organic carbon available in the ocean. During
chemosynthesis, bacteria use chemical energy stored in methane, hydrogen sulfde and ammonia
(rather than light energy) to convert inorganic CO
2
to organic carbon. Chemosynthetic reactions
are the basis for life at hot ridge vents and cold seeps, but photosynthesis is the basis for life in the
rest of the ocean.
30
What comes next in the marine food web? Small animals named zooplankton (zoo =
animal; plankton = foating) eat the primary producers. These zooplankton are small herbivores or
bactivores (plant or bacteria eaters) since primary production comes from marine plants and
bacteria. They are in turn consumed by small marine carnivores (that may also be zooplankton),
and these are consumed by larger marine carnivores and so on, up to the apex predators. These
animals are the highest level within the marine food web.
Often marine organisms eat plants, animals, or whatever source of organic carbon they can
fnd. This makes them omnivores because they eat a variety of things. Other sources of organic
carbon include fecal pellets (animal excrement) and dead bodies or body parts of marine plants
and animals. If these particles aren't consumed in shallow water, they sink into the deep where
they are consumed by "deposit" feeders. In this way, almost all of the produced organic carbon is
recycled to other organisms.
31
UNIT-II
IMPORTANT MARINE ORGANISMS
PART-A (2 MARKS)
1.Defne Phytoplanktons.
Plankton (singular plankter) are any drifting organisms (animals, plants, archaea, or bacteria)
that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water.
Phytoplankton are the autotrophic component of the plankton community. The name comes
from the Greek words (phyton), meaning "plant", and (planktos), meaning
"wanderer" or "drifter". Most phytoplankton are too small to be individually seen with the
unaided eye. However, when present in high enough numbers, they may appear as a green
discoloration of the water due to the presence of chlorophyll within their cells (although the actual
color may vary with the species of phytoplankton present due to varying levels of chlorophyll or
the presence of accessory pigments such as phycobiliproteins, xanthophylls, etc.).
2.Defne Zooplankton.
Zooplankton are the heterotrophic (sometimes detritivorous) type of plankton. Plankton are
organisms drifting in the water column of oceans, seas, and bodies of fresh water. The name of
zooplankton is derived from the Greek zoon (), meaning " animal", and planktos (),
meaning "wanderer" or "drifter". Many zooplankton are too small to be seen individually with the
naked eye.
3.Defne Nektons.
Nekton refers to the aggregate of actively swimming aquatic organisms in a body of water
(usually oceans or lakes) able to move independently of water currents.
Nekton are contrasted with plankton which refers to the aggregate of passively foating,
drifting, or somewhat motile organisms occurring in a body of water, primarily comprising tiny
algae and bacteria, small eggs and larvae of marine organisms, and protozoa and other minute
predators.
Oceanic nekton comprises animals largely from three clades
Vertebrates form the largest contribution, these animals are supported by either bones or
cartilage.
Mollusks are animals such as squids and scallops.
32
Crustaceans are animals such as lobsters and crabs.
4.write a note on benthos.
Benthos are the organisms which live on, in, or near the seabed, also known as the benthic
zone. They live in or near marine sedimentary environments, from tidal pools along the foreshore,
out to the continental shelf, and then down to the abyssal depths.
Many organisms adapted to deep-water pressure cannot survive in the upper parts of the
water column. The pressure diference can be very signifcant (approximately one atmosphere for
each 10 meters of water depth).
Benthic organisms, such as sea stars, oysters, clams, sea cucumbers, brittle stars and sea
anemones, play an important role as a food source for fsh and humans.
5.Write a note on marine mammals.
Marine mammals are a diverse group of 120 species of mammal that are primarily ocean-
dwelling or depend on the ocean for food. They include the cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and
porpoises), the sirenians (manatees and dugong), the pinnipeds (true seals, eared seals and
walrus), and several otters (the sea otter and marine otter). The polar bear, while not fully aquatic,
is also usually considered a marine mammal because it lives on sea ice for most or all of the year.
6.Write a note on Mangroves.
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline
coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics mainly between latitudes 25 N and 25 S.
Such bosks are also part of the mangrove forest biome. The saline conditions tolerated by various
species range from brackish water, through pure seawater (30 to 40 ppt), to water concentrated by
evaporation to over twice the salinity of ocean seawater (up to 90 ppt).
The unique ecosystem found in the intricate mesh of mangrove roots ofers a quiet marine
region for young organisms. In areas where roots are permanently submerged, the organisms they
host include algae, barnacles, oysters, sponges, and bryozoans, which all require a hard surface for
anchoring while they flter feed. Shrimps and mud lobsters use the muddy bottoms as their home.
Mangrove crabs mulch the mangrove leaves, adding nutritients to the mangal muds for other
bottom feeders. In at least some cases, export of carbon fxed in mangroves is important in coastal
food webs.
33
7.Write a note on coral reefs.
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals.
Corals are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters containing few nutrients. Most
coral reefs are built from stony corals, and are formed by polyps that live together in groups. The
polyps secrete a hard carbonate exoskeleton which provides support and protection for the body
of each polyp. Reefs grow best in warm, shallow, clear, sunny and agitated waters.
8.Write a note on intertidal zone.
The intertidal zone (also known as the foreshore and seashore and sometimes referred to as the
littoral zone) is the area that is exposed to the air at low tide and underwater at high tide (for
example, the area between tide marks). This area can include many diferent types of habitats,
including steep rocky clifs, sandy beaches, or wetlands (e.g., vast mudfats).
9.Write down the fora present in the intertidal zone.
Algae
Red algae
Green algae
Brown algae(includes Kelps)
10.What are fauna present in the intertidal zone.
Many of the animals are invertebrates (animals without a spine), which comprise a wide group
of organisms available in this intertidal zone.
Some examples of invertebrates found in tide pools are crabs, urchins, sea stars, sea anemones,
barnacles, snails, mussels and limpets. The intertidal is also home to marine vertebrates, some of
whom prey on intertidal animals, such as fsh, gulls and seals.
Part-B(16 Marks)
1.Write a detailed note on Phytoplanktons.
Phytoplankton are the autotrophic component of the plankton community. The name comes
from the Greek words (phyton), meaning "plant", and (planktos), meaning
"wanderer" or "drifter". Most phytoplankton are too small to be individually seen with the
unaided eye. However, when present in high enough numbers, they may appear as a green
34
discoloration of the water due to the presence of chlorophyll within their cells (although the actual
color may vary with the species of phytoplankton present due to varying levels of chlorophyll or
the presence of accessory pigments such as phycobiliproteins, xanthophylls, etc).
Phytoplankton obtain energy through the process of photosynthesis and must therefore live in
the well-lit surface layer (termed the euphotic zone) of an ocean, sea, lake, or other body of water.
Phytoplankton account for half of all photosynthetic activity on Earth. Thus phytoplankton are
responsible for much of the oxygen present in the Earth's atmosphere half of the total amount
produced by all plant life. Their cumulative energy fxation in carbon compounds (primary
production) is the basis for the vast majority of oceanic and also many freshwater food webs
(chemosynthesis is a notable exception). Since the 20th century, phytoplankton has declined by
roughly 1% yearly, possibly linked to warming oceanic temperatures - as of 2010 this means a
decline of 40% relative to 1950. As a side note, one of the more remarkable food chains in the ocean
remarkable because of the small number of links is that of phytoplankton feeding krill (a type
of shrimp) feeding baleen whales.
Phytoplankton are also crucially dependent on minerals. These are primarily macronutrients
such as nitrate, phosphate or silicic acid, whose availability is governed by the balance between the
so-called biological pump and upwelling of deep, nutrient-rich waters. However, across large
regions of the World Ocean such as the Southern Ocean, phytoplankton are also limited by the
lack of the micronutrient iron. This has led to some scientists advocating iron fertilization as a
means to counteract the accumulation of human-produced carbon dioxide (CO
2
) in the
atmosphere. Large-scale experiments have added iron (usually as salts such as iron sulphate) to
the oceans to promote phytoplankton growth and draw atmospheric CO
2
into the ocean. While
almost all phytoplankton species are obligate photoautotrophs, there are some that are
mixotrophic and other, non-pigmented species that are actually heterotrophic (the latter are often
viewed as zooplankton). Of these, the best known are dinofagellate genera such as Noctiluca and
Dinophysis, that obtain organic carbon by ingesting other organisms or detrital material.
The term phytoplankton encompasses all photoautotrophic microorganisms in aquatic food
webs. Phytoplankton serve as the base of the aquatic food web, providing an essential ecological
function for all aquatic life. However, unlike terrestrial communities, where most autotrophs are
plants, phytoplankton are a diverse group, incorporating protistan eukaryotes and both
eubacterial and archaebacterial prokaryotes. There are about 5,000 species of marine
phytoplankton.
[8]
There is uncertainty in how such diversity has evolved in an environment where
competition for only a few resources would suggest limited potential for niche diferentiation.
In terms of numbers, the most important groups of phytoplankton include the diatoms,
cyanobacteria and dinofagellates, although many other groups of algae are represented. One
35
group, the coccolithophorids, is responsible (in part) for the release of signifcant amounts of
dimethyl sulfde (DMS) into the atmosphere. DMS is converted to sulfate and these sulfate
molecules act as cloud condensation nuclei, increasing general cloud cover. In oligotrophic oceanic
regions such as the Sargasso Sea or the South Pacifc Gyre, phytoplankton is dominated by the
small sized cells, called picoplankton, mostly composed of cyanobacteria (Prochlorococcus,
Synechococcus) and picoeucaryotes such as Micromonas.
Diatoms:
Diatoms are a major group of algae, and are one of the most common types of
phytoplankton. Most diatoms are unicellular, although they can exist as colonies in the shape of
flaments or ribbons (e.g. Fragillaria), fans (e.g. Meridion), zigzags (e.g. Tabellaria), or stellate
colonies (e.g. Asterionella). Diatoms are producers within the food chain. A characteristic feature of
diatom cells is that they are encased within a unique cell wall made of silica (hydrated silicon
dioxide) called a frustule. These frustules show a wide diversity in form, but usually consist of two
asymmetrical sides with a split between them, hence the group name. Fossil evidence suggests
that they originated during, or before, the early Jurassic Period. Diatom communities are a popular
tool for monitoring environmental conditions, past and present, and are commonly used in studies
of water quality.
Diatoms generally range in size from ca. 2-200m, and are composed of a cell wall
comprising silica. This siliceous wall can be highly patterned with a variety of pores, ribs, minute
spines, marginal ridges and elevations; all of which can be utilised to delineate genera and species.
The cell itself consists of two halves, each containing an essentially fat plate, or valve and marginal
connecting, or girdle band. One half, the hypotheca, is slightly smaller than the other half, the
epitheca. Diatom morphology varies, typically though the shape of the cell is circular, although,
some cells may be triangular, square, or elliptical.
Cells are solitary or united into colonies of various kinds, which may be linked by siliceous
structures; mucilage pads, or stalks; mucilage tubes; amorphous masses of mucilage and threads
of polysaccharide (chitin), which are secreted through strutted processes. Major pigments of
diatoms are chlorophylls a and c, beta-carotene, fucoxanthin, diatoxanthin and diadinoxanthin.
Diatoms are primarily photosynthetic. A few, however, are obligate heterotrophs, while others can
live heterotrophically in the absence of light, provided an appropriate organic carbon source is
available. Storage products are chrysolaminarin and lipids.
The classifcation of heterokonts is still unsettled, and they may be treated as a division (or
phylum), kingdom, or something in-between. Accordingly, groups like the diatoms may be ranked
anywhere from class (usually called Diatomophyceae) to division (usually called Bacillariophyta),
36
with corresponding changes in the ranks of their subgroups.
Diatoms are traditionally divided into two orders:
centric diatoms (Centrales), which are radially symmetric
pennate diatoms (Pennales), which are bilaterally symmetric. The former are paraphyletic to
the latter.
A more recent classifcation
[3]
divides the diatoms into three classes:
1.centric diatoms (Coscinodiscophyceae)
2.pennate diatoms
o without a raphe (Fragilariophyceae)
o with a raphe (Bacillariophyceae)
Cyanobacteria:
Cyanobacteria (also known as blue-green algae, blue-green bacteria, and Cyanophyta) is a
phylum of bacteria that obtain their energy through photosynthesis. The name "cyanobacteria"
comes from the color of the bacteria (Greek: (kyans) = blue).
The ability of cyanobacteria to perform oxygenic photosynthesis is thought to have
converted the early reducing atmosphere into an oxidizing one, which dramatically changed the
composition of life forms on Earth by stimulating biodiversity and leading to the near-extinction of
oxygen-intolerant organisms. According to endosymbiotic theory, chloroplasts in plants and
eukaryotic algae have evolved from cyanobacteria via endosymbiosis.
Cyanobacteria can be found in almost every conceivable environment, from oceans to fresh
water to bare rock to soil. They can occur as planktonic cells or form phototrophic bioflms in fresh
water and marine environments, they occur in damp soil, or even temporarily moistened rocks in
deserts. A few are endosymbionts in lichens, plants, various protists, or sponges and provide
energy for the host. Some live in the fur of sloths, providing a form of camoufage. Aquatic
cyanobacteria are probably best known for the extensive and highly visible blooms that can form
in both freshwater and the marine environment and can have the appearance of blue-green paint
or scum. The association of toxicity with such blooms has frequently led to the closure of
recreational waters when blooms are observed. Marine bacteriophage are a signifcant parasite of
unicellular, marine cyanobacteria. When they infect cells they lyse them releasing more phages
into the water.
Certain cyanobacteria produce cyanotoxins including anatoxin-a, anatoxin-as, aplysiatoxin,
cylindrospermopsin, domoic acid, microcystin LR, nodularin R (from Nodularia), or saxitoxin.
37
Sometimes a mass-reproduction of cyanobacteria results in algal blooms.
These toxins can be neurotoxins, hepatotoxins, cytotoxins, and endotoxins, and can be toxic
and dangerous to humans and animals. Several cases of human poisoning have been documented
but a lack of knowledge prevents an accurate assessment of the risks.Recent studies suggest that
signifcant exposure to high levels of some species of cyanobacteria causes amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis (ALS). The Lake Mascoma ALS cluster and Gulf War veteran's cluster are two notable
examples.
Dinofagellates:
The dinofagellates (Greek dinos "whirling" and Latin fagellum "whip, scourge") are a
large group of fagellate protists. Most are marine plankton, but they are common in fresh water
habitats as well. Their populations are distributed depending on temperature, salinity, or depth.
About half of all dinofagellates are photosynthetic, and these make up the largest group of marine
eukaryotic algae aside from the diatoms. Being primary producers makes them an important part
of the aquatic food chain. Some species, called zooxanthellae, are endosymbionts of marine
animals and protozoa, and play an important part in the biology of coral reefs. Other
dinofagellates are colorless predators on other protozoa, and a few forms are parasitic (see for
example Oodinium, Pfesteria).
This group is also known as the order Dinofagellata
[1]
or the class Dinophyceae.
[2]
An algal bloom of dinofagellates can result in a visible coloration of the water colloquially
known as red tide.
Most dinofagellates are unicellular forms with two fagella. One of these extends towards
the posterior, called the longitudinal fagellum, while the other forms a lateral circle, called the
transverse fagellum. In many forms these are set into grooves, called the sulcus and cingulum. The
transverse fagellum, which is coiled, provides most of the force propelling the cell, and often
imparts to it a distinctive whirling motion, which is what gives them their name. The longitudinal
fagellum acts mainly as a rudder, but provides a small amount of propulsive force as well.
Dinofagellates have a complex cell covering called an amphiesma, composed of fattened
vesicles, called alveoli. In some forms, these support overlapping cellulose plates that make up a
sort of armor called the theca. These come in various shapes and arrangements, depending on the
species and sometimes on the stage of the dinofagellate. Fibrous extrusomes are also found in
many forms. Together with various other structural and genetic details, this organization indicates
a close relationship between the dinofagellates, Apicomplexa, and ciliates, collectively referred to
38
as the alveolates.
The chloroplasts in most photosynthetic dinofagellates are bound by three membranes,
suggesting they were probably derived from some ingested algae, and contain chlorophylls a and c
and either peridinin or fucoxanthin, as well as various other accessory pigments. However, a few
such as zooxanthellae, which are endosymbionts of corals and other marine animals, have
chloroplasts with diferent pigmentation, sexuality, and structure, some of which retain a nucleus.
This suggests their chloroplasts were incorporated by several endosymbiotic events involving
already colored or secondarily colorless forms. The discovery of plastids in Apicomplexa have led
some to suggest they were inherited from an ancestor common to the two groups, but none of the
more basal lines have them. All the same, the dinofagellate cell consists of the more common
organelles such as rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, mitochondria, lipid
and starch grains, and food vacuoles. Some have even been found with light sensitive organelle,
the eyespot or stigma, or a larger nucleus containing a prominent nucleolus. The dinofagellate
Erythropsidium has the smallest known eye
2.Explain about Zooplanktons.
Zooplankton, the animal form of plankton, includes protozoa, small crustaceans, jellyfsh and
worms. Protozoa are single celled organisms that can colonize; they can live in oceans, salt lakes,
freshwater lakes, rivers and ponds and vary in size for two to seventy micrometers and even
larger. Crustaceans are invertebrates that live in water as well as on land and can vary from
microscopic to sixty centimeters. Zooplanktons main sustenance are bacteria and phytoplankton,
making them the second link in the food chain.
In order for the zooplankton to have easy access to their food source, they need to be located near
the phytoplankton. Because phytoplankton needs to have access to sunlight to photosynthesize,
they must be near the surface of the water. Zoplankton also need iron in their diet. So, that is also
where zooplankton can be found; the top 100 meters of the water to be exact. Just like
phytoplankton, zooplankton can't swim; instead they just foat along with the currents, tides and
and winds. The diference between the movement of phytoplankton and zooplankton is that
zooplankton can often weight too much to just foat along, like the phytoplankton, so they use
spikes for weight distribution.
Zooplankton is a broad categorisation spanning a range of organism sizes that includes
both small protozoans and large metazoans. It includes holoplanktonic organisms whose complete
life cycle lies within the plankton, and meroplanktonic organisms that spend part of their life cycle
in the plankton before graduating to either the nekton or a sessile, benthic existence. Although
zooplankton are primarily transported by ambient water currents, many have some power of
39
locomotion and use this to avoid predators (as in diel vertical migration) or to increase prey
encounter rate.
Ecologically important protozoan zooplankton groups include the foraminiferans,
radiolarians and dinofagellates (the latter are often mixotrophic). Important metazoan
zooplankton include cnidarians such as jellyfsh and the Portuguese Man o' War; crustaceans such
as copepods and krill; chaetognaths (arrow worms); molluscs such as pteropods; and chordates
such as salps and juvenile fsh. This wide phylogenetic range includes a similarly wide range in
feeding behavior: flter feeding, predation and symbiosis with autotrophic phytoplankton as seen
in corals. Zooplankton feed on bacterioplankton, phytoplankton, other zooplankton (sometimes
cannibalistically), detritus (or marine snow) and even nektonic organisms. As a result,
zooplankton are primarily found in surface waters where food resources (phytoplankton or other
zooplankton) are most abundant.
Through their consumption and processing of phytoplankton (and other food sources),
zooplankton play an important role in aquatic food webs, both as a resource for consumers on
higher trophic levels (including fsh), and as a conduit for packaging the organic material in the
biological pump. Since they are typically of small size, zooplankton can respond relatively rapidly
to increases in phytoplankton abundance, for instance, during the spring bloom.
Aside from this role in aquatic food webs, zooplankton can also act as an important disease
reservoir. They have been found to house the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, causative agent of cholera,
by allowing the cholera vibrios to attach to their chitinous exoskeletons. This symbiotic
relationship greatly enhances the bacterium's ability to survive in an aquatic environment, as the
exoskeleton provides the bacterium with an abundant source of carbon and nitrogen.
3.write about the nektons and benthos.
Nekton refers to the aggregate of actively swimming aquatic organisms in a body of water
(usually oceans or lakes) able to move independently of water currents.
Nekton are contrasted with plankton which refers to the aggregate of passively foating,
drifting, or somewhat motile organisms occurring in a body of water, primarily comprising tiny
algae and bacteria, small eggs and larvae of marine organisms, and protozoa and other minute
predators.
As a rule of thumb, nekton are larger and tend to swim largely at biologically high
Reynolds numbers (>10^3 and up beyond 10^9), where inertial fows are the rule, and eddies
(vortices) are easily shed. Plankton, on the other hand, are small and, if they swim at all, do so at
40
biologically low Reynolds numbers (0.001 to 10), where the viscous behavior of water dominates,
and reversible fows are the rule. Organisms such as jellyfsh and others are considered plankton
when they are very small and swim at low Reynolds numbers, and considered nekton as they
grow large enough to swim at high Reynolds numbers. Many animals considered classic examples
of nekton (e.g., mola mola, squid, marlin) start out life as tiny members of the plankton and
gradually transition to nekton as they grow.
Oceanic nekton comprises animals largely from three clades
Vertebrates form the largest contribution, these animals are supported by either bones or
cartilage.
Mollusks are animals such as squids and scallops.
Crustaceans are animals such as lobsters and crabs.
Benthos:
Benthos are the organisms which live on, in, or near the seabed, also known as the benthic
zone. They live in or near marine sedimentary environments, from tidal pools along the foreshore,
out to the continental shelf, and then down to the abyssal depths.
Many organisms adapted to deep-water pressure cannot survive in the upper parts of the
water column. The pressure diference can be very signifcant (approximately one atmosphere for
each 10 meters of water depth).
Because light does not penetrate very deep ocean-water, the energy source for deep benthic
ecosystems is often organic matter from higher up in the water column which drifts down to the
depths. This dead and decaying matter sustains the benthic food chain; most organisms in the
benthic zone are scavengers or detritivores.
The term benthos comes from the Greek noun "depths of the sea". Benthos is also
used in freshwater biology to refer to organisms at the bottom of freshwater bodies of water, such
as lakes, rivers, and streams.
The main food sources for benthos is algae and organic runof from land. The depth of
water, temperature and salinity, and type of local substrate all afect what benthos is present. In
coastal waters and other places where light reaches the bottom, benthic photosynthesizing
diatoms can proliferate. Filter feeders, such as sponges and bivalves, dominate hard, sandy
bottoms. Deposit feeders, such as polychaetes, populate softer bottoms. Fish, sea stars, snails,
cephalopods, and crustaceans are important predators and scavengers.
41
Benthic organisms, such as sea stars, oysters, clams, sea cucumbers, brittle stars and sea
anemones, play an important role as a food source for fsh and humans.
Macrobenthos
Macrobenthos are the larger, more visible, benthos that are greater than 0.5 mm in size.
Some examples are polychaete worms, bivalves, echinoderms, sea anemones, corals, sponges, sea
squirts, turbellarians and larger crustaceans such as crabs, lobsters and cumaceans.
Meiobenthos
Meiobenthos are tiny benthos that are less than 0.5 mm but greater than 32 m in size.
Some examples are nematodes, foraminiferans, water bears, gastrotriches and smaller crustaceans
such as copepods and ostracodes.
4.Give a detailed notes on marine mammals.
Marine mammals are a diverse group of 120 species of mammal that are primarily ocean-
dwelling or depend on the ocean for food. They include the cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and
porpoises), the sirenians (manatees and dugong), the pinnipeds (true seals, eared seals and
walrus), and several otters (the sea otter and marine otter). The polar bear, while not fully aquatic,
is also usually considered a marine mammal because it lives on sea ice for most or all of the year.
Marine mammals evolved from land dwelling ancestors and share several adaptive features
for life at sea such as generally large size, hydrodynamic body shapes, modifed appendages and
various thermoregulatory adaptations. Whales are the largest mammals ever. Diferent species are,
however, adapted to marine life to varying degrees. The most fully adapted are the cetaceans and
the sirenians, which cannot live on land.
Despite the fact that marine mammals are highly recognizable charismatic megafauna,
many populations are vulnerable or endangered due to a history of commercial use for blubber,
meat, ivory and fur. Most species are currently in protection from commercial use.
There are some 120 extant species of marine mammals, generally sub-divided into the fve
groups bold-faced below.
[1]
Each group descended from a diferent land-based ancestor. The
morphological similarities between these diverse groups are a result of convergent and parallel
evolution. For example, although whales and seals have some similarities in shape, whales are
more closely related to deer than they are to seals.
42
Order Sirenia: Sirenians, belonging to Afrotheria, a group that includes elephants
and hyraxes
family Trichechidae: manatees (3 species, however, only one is actually a marine
mammal)
family Dugongidae: dugong (1 species)
Order Cetacea: Cetaceans, belonging to Cetartiodactyla, a group that includes
hippopotamuses, deer, and pigs.
Suborder Mysticeti: Baleen whales (14 or 15 species)
Suborder Odontoceti: Toothed whales (around 73 species)
Suborder Archaeoceti :
Pakicetus
Ichtyolestes
Ambulocetus
Himalayacetus
Kutchicetus
Remingtonocetus
Rodhocetus
Maiacetus
Protocetus
Dorudon
3 other species
Order Carnivora,
superfamily Pinnipedia, belonging to Caniformia descended from a bear-like
ancestor.
family Phocidae: true seals (around 20 species)
family Otariidae: eared seals (around 16 species)
family Odobenidae: walrus (1 species)
family Mustelidae, belonging to Caniformia and most closely related to other otters
and weasels
sea otter (Enhydra lutris)
marine otter (Lontra felina)
family Ursidae, belonging to Caniformia
polar bear (Ursus maritimus), most closely related to other bears, particularly the
brown bear
Order Desmostylia
Order Pilosa
Thalassocnus
Several groups of marine mammals existed in the past that are not alive today. In addition
43
to the ancestors of the modern day whales, seals, and manatees, there existed desmostylians,
cousins of the manatees, and Kolponomos, a genus of clam-eating marine bears not related to the
modern polar bear.
Adaptations
Since mammals originally evolved on land, their spines are optimized for running, allowing
for up-and-down but only little sideways motion. Therefore, marine mammals typically swim by
moving their spine up and down. By contrast, fsh normally swim by moving their spine sideways.
For this reason, fsh mostly have vertical caudal (tail) fns, while marine mammals have horizontal
caudal fns.
Some of the primary diferences between marine mammals and other marine life are:
Marine mammals breathe air, while most other marine animals extract oxygen from
water.
Marine mammals have hair. Cetaceans have little or no hair, usually a very few
bristles retained around the head or mouth. All members of the Carnivora have a coat of fur
or hair, but it is far thicker and more important for thermoregulation in sea otters and polar
bears than in seals or sea lions. Thick layers of fur contribute to drag while swimming, and
slow down a swimming mammal, giving it a disadvantage in speed.
Marine mammals have thick layers of blubber used to insulate their bodies and
prevent heat loss. Sea otters and polar bears are exceptions, relying more on fur and
behavior to stave of hypothermia.
Marine mammals give birth. Most marine mammals give birth to one calf or pup at a
time.
Marine mammals feed of milk as young. Maternal care is extremely important to the
survival of ofspring that need to develop a thick insulating layer of blubber. The milk from
the mammary glands of marine mammals often exceeds 40-50% fat content to support the
development of blubber.
Marine mammals maintain a high internal body temperature. Unlike most other
marine life, marine mammals carefully maintain a core temperature much higher than their
environment. Blubber, thick coats of fur, bubbles of air between skin and water,
countercurrent exchange, and behaviors such as hauling out, are all adaptations that aid
marine mammals in retention of body heat.
The polar bear spends a large portion of its time in a marine environment, albeit a frozen one.
When it does swim in the open sea it is extremely profcient and has been shown to cover 74 km in
a day. For reasons like these, some scientists regard it as a marine mammal.
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5. Explain about coral reefs and mangroves.
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals.
Corals are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters containing few nutrients. Most
coral reefs are built from stony corals, and are formed by polyps that live together in groups. The
polyps secrete a hard carbonate exoskeleton which provides support and protection for the body
of each polyp. Reefs grow best in warm, shallow, clear, sunny and agitated waters.
Often called rainforests of the sea, coral reefs form some of the most diverse ecosystems
on earth. They occupy less than one tenth of one percent of the world ocean surface, about half the
area of France, yet they provide a home for twenty-fve percent of all marine species, including
fsh,molluscs,worms, crustaceans, echinoderms, sponges, tunicates and other cnidarians.
Paradoxically, coral reefs fourish even though they are surrounded by ocean waters that provide
few nutrients. They are most commonly found at shallow depths in tropical waters, but deep
water and cold water corals also exist on smaller scales in other areas.
Coral reefs deliver ecosystem services to tourism, fsheries and shoreline protection. The
annual global economic value of coral reefs has been estimated at $30 billion. However, coral reefs
are fragile ecosystems, partly because they are very sensitive to water temperature. They are under
threat from climate change, ocean acidifcation, blast fshing, cyanide fshing for aquarium fsh,
overuse of reef resources, and harmful land-use practices, including urban and agricultural runof
and water pollution, which can harm reefs by encouraging excess algae growth.
Live coral are small animals embedded in calcium carbonate shells. It is a mistake to think
of coral as plants or rocks. Coral heads consist of accumulations of individual animals called
polyps, arranged in diverse shapes. Polyps are usually tiny, but they can range in size from a
pinhead to a foot across. Reef-building or hermatypic corals live only in the photic zone (above
50 m depth), the depth to which sufcient sunlight penetrates the water for photosynthesis to
occur. Coral polyps do not themselves photosynthesize, but have a symbiotic relationship with
single-celled organisms called zooxanthellae; these organisms live within the tissues of polyps and
provide organic nutrients that nourish the polyp. Because of this relationship, coral reefs grow
much faster in clear water, which admits more sunlight. Indeed, the relationship is responsible for
coral reefs in the sense that without their symbionts, coral growth would be too slow for the corals
to form signifcant reef structures. Corals get up to 90% of their nutrients from their zooxanthellae
symbionts.
Reefs grow as polyps and other organisms deposit calcium carbonate, the basis of coral, as a
skeletal structure beneath and around themselves, pushing the coral head's top upwards and
45
outwards. Waves, grazing fsh (such as parrotfsh), sea urchins, sponges, and other forces and
organisms act as bioeroders, breaking down coral skeletons into fragments that settle into spaces
in the reef structure or form sandy bottoms in associated reef lagoons. Many other organisms
living in the reef community contribute skeletal calcium carbonate in the same manner. Coralline
algae are important contributors to reef structure in those parts of the reef subjected to the greatest
forces by waves (such as the reef front facing the open ocean). These algae deposit limestone in
sheets over the reef surface, thereby strengthening it.
The colonies of the one thousand coral species assume a characteristic shape such as
wrinkled brains, cabbages, table tops, antlers, wire strands and pillars.
Reefs are home to a large variety of organisms, including fsh, seabirds, sponges, Cnidarians
(which includes some types of corals and jellyfsh), worms, crustaceans (including shrimp, cleaner
shrimp, spiny lobsters and crabs), molluscs (including cephalopods), echinoderms (including
starfsh, sea urchins and sea cucumbers), sea squirts, sea turtles and sea snakes. Aside from
humans, mammals are rare on coral reefs, with visiting cetaceans such as dolphins being the main
exception. A few of these varied species feed directly on corals, while others graze on algae on the
reef.
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline
coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics mainly between latitudes 25 N and 25 S.
Such bosks are also part of the mangrove forest biome. The saline conditions tolerated by various
species range from brackish water, through pure seawater (30 to 40 ppt), to water concentrated by
evaporation to over twice the salinity of ocean seawater (up to 90 ppt).
[1][2]
46
There are many species of trees and shrubs adapted to saline conditions. Not all are closely
related, and the term "mangrove" may be used for all of them, or more narrowly only for the
mangrove family of plants, the Rhizophoraceae, or even more specifcally just for mangrove trees
of the genus Rhizophora.
Mangroves form a characteristic saline woodland or shrubland habitat, called mangrove
swamp, mangrove forest, mangrove or mangal. Mangals are found in depositional coastal
environments, where fne sediments (often with high organic content) collect in areas protected
from high-energy wave action. Mangroves dominate three quarters of tropical coastlines.
Mangroves are found in tropical and subtropical tidal areas, which have a high degree of
salinity. Areas where mangals occur include estuaries and marine shorelines.
Plants in mangals are diverse, but all are able to exploit their habitat (the intertidal zone) by
developing physiological adaptations to overcome the problems of anoxia, high salinity and
frequent tidal inundation. About 110 species belong to the mangal. Each species has its own
solutions to these problems; this may be the primary reason why, on some shorelines, mangrove
tree species show distinct zonation. Small environmental variations within a mangal may lead to
greatly difering methods for coping with the environment. Therefore, the mix of species is partly
determined by the tolerances of individual species to physical conditions, like tidal inundation
and salinity, but may also be infuenced by other factors such as predation of plant seedlings by
crabs.
Once established, mangrove roots provide an oyster habitat and slow water fow, thereby
enhancing sediment deposition in areas where it is already occurring. The fne, anoxic sediments
under mangroves act as sinks for a variety of heavy (trace) metals which colloidal particles in the
sediments scavenged from the water. Mangrove removal disturbs these underlying sediments,
often creating problems of trace metal contamination of seawater and biota.
Mangroves protect coastal areas from erosion, storm surge (especially during hurricanes),
and tsunamis. The mangroves' massive root systems are efcient at dissipating wave energy.
Likewise, they slow down tidal water enough that its sediment is deposited as the tide comes in,
leaving all except fne particles when the tide ebbs. In this way, mangroves build their own
environment. Because of the uniqueness of mangrove ecosystems and the protection against
erosion they provide, they are often the object of conservation programs, including national
biodiversity action plans.
However, mangroves' protective value is sometimes overstated. Wave energy is typically
47
low in areas where mangroves grow, so their efect on erosion can only be measured over long
periods. Their capacity to limit high-energy wave erosion is limited to events such as storm surges
and tsunamis. Erosion often occurs on the outer sides of bends in river channels that wind
through mangroves, while new stands of mangroves are appearing on the inner sides where
sediment is accruing.
The unique ecosystem found in the intricate mesh of mangrove roots ofers a quiet marine
region for young organisms. In areas where roots are permanently submerged, the organisms they
host include algae, barnacles, oysters, sponges, and bryozoans, which all require a hard surface for
anchoring while they flter feed. Shrimps and mud lobsters use the muddy bottoms as their
home.Mangrove crabs mulch the mangrove leaves, adding nutritients to the mangal muds for
other bottom feeders.In at least some cases, export of carbon fxed in mangroves is important in
coastal food webs.
Mangrove plantations in Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and India host several
commercially important species of fsh and crustaceans. Despite restoration eforts, developers and
others have removed over half of the world's mangroves in recent times.
Of the recognized 110 mangrove species, only about 54 species in 20 genera from 16 families
constitute the "true mangroves", species that occur almost exclusively in mangrove habitats.
Demonstrating convergent evolution, many of these species found similar solutions to the tropical
conditions of variable salinity, tidal range (inundation), anaerobic soils and intense sunlight. Plant
biodiversity is generally low in a given mangal. This is especially true in higher latitudes and in
the Americas. The greatest biodiversity occurs in the mangal of New Guinea, Indonesia and
Malaysia.
6. Write in detail about deep sea animals.
Deep sea creatures are fsh and other creatures that live down in the deepest part of the
ocean. It is very cold down at the bottom and there is no sunlight only the light produced by the
some of the creatures. Almost every deep sea creature has a cell in their body that makes a light .
The term 'Deep Sea refers to organisms that live below the photic zone of the ocean. These
creatures must survive in extremely harsh conditions; such as hundreds of atmospheres of
pressure, small amounts of oxygen, very little food, no sunlight, and constant, extreme cold. Most
creatures have to depend on food foating down from above.
These creatures live in very harsh environments such as the abyssal or hadal zones, which,
being thousands of meters below the surface, are almost completely devoid of light. The water is
48
very cold (between 3 and 10 degrees Celsius, or 37 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit), and has low
oxygen levels. Due to the depth, the pressure is between 20 and 1,000 atmospheres. Creatures that
live thousands of feet deep in the ocean have adapted to the high pressure, lack of light, and other
factors.
Whales can dive to about 3,500 feet deep in search of their prey. The Giant squid is one of
the very few deep ocean creatures that can visit the ocean surface. The Viperfsh have long sharp
clear teeth that they use to catch there prey. The Hatchet fsh has a light that attracts their prey.
Gulper eels have huge heads and mouths so they can swallow their prey easily. They also have
elastic stomachs, which allows them to eat fsh larger then themselves. Anglerfshes use a light on
top of their head to catch their prey. The Rattail fsh detects its prey with a whip like tail. A Sea
Pen is a little worm like creature that lives and crawls on the ocean foor. Many fsh larger than the
Sea Pen make it their lunch.
Many deep-sea creatures are black, there for they are easy to see with the light that is
produced. But some deep-sea fsh and prawns are bright red which makes it hard for them to be
caught. Some fsh, especially the Hatchet fsh and the Lantern fsh swim to the top to catch their
prey. If a deep-sea fsh or creature from the bottom of the ocean to the twilight zone is brought up
to the surface, their organs and eyes will explode and they will die. Fish of the deep-sea have a
light that they produce from a cell in there body. The light that they produce is a greenish-yellow
color.
Only soft body animals can live at those depths such as jellyfsh, sea anemones and other
soft bodied animals.
7. Describe about intertidal zone and the organisms present in this zone .
The intertidal zone is the area where land and sea meet. This habitat is covered with water
at high tide, and exposed to air at low tide. The land in this zone can be rocky, sandy or covered in
mudfats.
The intertidal plant community consists of four zones: the splash or top zone, the high
midlittoral or intertidal zone exposed and covered twice per day by low and high tides, the low
midlittoral or intertidal zone that is exposed only once per day by low tide, and the subtidal zone
which remains submerged. Unlike terrestrial zones, however, intertidal zonation occurs in nine
vertical feet requiring all species to be uniquely adapted for these extreme conditions.
Challenges in the Intertidal Zone:
49
The intertidal is home to a wide variety of organisms. Organisms in this zone have many
adaptations that allow them to survive in this challenging, ever-changing environment.
Moisture: There are usually two high tides and two low tides each day. Depending on the
time of day, diferent areas of the intertidal zone may be wet or dry. Organisms in this habitat must
be able to adapt if they are left high and dry when the tide goes out. Sea snails such as
periwinkles have a trap door called an operculum that they can close when they are out of water
to keep moisture in.
Waves: In some areas, waves hit the intertidal zone with force, and marine animals and
plants must be able to protect themselves. Kelp, a type of algae, has a root-like structure called a
holdfast that it uses to attach to rocks or mussels, thus keeping it in place.
Salinity: Depending on rainfall, the water in the intertidal may be more or less salty, and
tide pool organisms must adapt to increases or decreases in salt throughout the day.
Temperature: As the tide goes out, tide pools and shallow areas in the intertidal will
become more vulnerable to temperature changes that could occur from increased sunlight or
colder weather. Some tide pool animals hide under plants in the tide pool to fnd shelter from the
sun.
Marine Life in the Intertidal Zone:
The intertidal is home to many species of animals and plants. There are few green algae
species found in the intertidal zone but, perhaps, the most visible and abundant is the bright green
sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca) that is found in shallow bays, lagoons, harbors and marshes. The brown
algae are larger and include giant kelps (Nereocystis), oar weeds (Laminaria) and sea palms
(Postelsia palmaeformis). Brown algae is particularly suited for the cold Pacifc Ocean. Red algae is
still more abundant and comprises most species of seaweed in the world. Many of the animals are
invertebrates (animals without a spine), which comprise a wide group of organisms.
Some examples of invertebrates found in tide pools are crabs, urchins, sea stars, sea
anemones, barnacles, snails, mussels and limpets. The intertidal is also home to marine
vertebrates, some of whom prey on intertidal animals, such as fsh, gulls and seals.
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51
UNIT III
MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
PART-A(2 MARKS)
1.Defne marine pollution.
Marine pollution occurs when harmful efects, or potentially harmful efects, can result
from the entry into the ocean of chemicals, particles, industrial, agricultural and residential waste,
noise, or the spread of invasive organisms. Most sources of marine pollution are land based. The
pollution often comes from nonpoint sources such as agricultural runof and wind blown debris.
2.Defne marine debris.
Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is human-created waste that has deliberately or
accidentally become afoat in a lake, sea, ocean or waterway. Oceanic debris tends to accumulate at
the centre of gyres and on coastlines,
[1]
frequently washing aground, when it is known as beach
litter or tidewrack. Deliberate disposal of wastes at sea is called ocean dumping.
3. What are the ways of marine pollution?
Direct discharge
Land discharge
Ship pollution
Atmospheric pollution
Deep sea mining
4.Defne marine fouling.
Biofouling or biological fouling is the undesirable accumulation of microorganisms, plants,
algae, and/or animals on wetted structures. Biofouling is especially economically signifcant on
ships' hulls where high levels of fouling can reduce the performance of the vessel and increase its
fuel requirements.
5.Defne marine corrosion.
Marine corrosion is an electrochemical reaction that happens when electrons fow between
metals that are connected or grounded through water. Marine corrosion is the defning factor with
52
regards to the longevity of your boat engine, boat exhaust system and sterndrive.
PART-B(16 MARKS)
1.Explain marine corrosion.
Marine corrosion is an electrochemical reaction that happens when electrons fow between
metals that are connected or grounded through water. Marine corrosion is the defning factor with
regards to the longevity of your boat engine, boat exhaust system and sterndrive. As it happens,
this electrical action causes one of the two metals to literally be eaten away - marine corrosion.
Year upon year the cost of marine corrosion has increased until it is estimated today at 4 % of
the Gross National Product. An enlightened approach to materials selection, protection and
corrosion control is needed to reduce this burden of wasted materials, wasted energy and wasted
money. These notes have been compiled by Members of the Marine Corrosion Forum to help
marine designers, engineers, and equipment users, understand the causes of marine corrosion and
the way in which protective systems and more resistant materials can be used to reduce or entirely
eliminate sea water corrosion problems.
Many diferent types of destructive attack can occur to structures, ships and other equipment
used in sea water service. The term 'aqueous corrosion' describes the majority of the most
troublesome problems encountered in contact with sea water, but atmospheric corrosion of metals
exposed on or near coastlines, and hot salt corrosion in engines operating at sea or taking in salt-
laden air are equally problematical and like aqueous corrosion require a systematic approach to
eliminate or manage them.
Corrosion by sea water
Corrosion by sea water, aqueous corrosion, is an electrochemical process, and all metals and
alloys when in contact with sea water have a specifc electrical potential (or corrosion potential) at
a specifc level of sea water acidity or alkalinity - the pH.
53

This typical diagram shows the regions where the metal will freely corrode; the region of
passivation where stable oxide or other flms form and the corrosion process is stifed; the region
of pitting corrosion where the corrosion potential of the metal exceeds that of its oxide; and the
region of immunity where the metal is normally fully safe to use. More resistant alloys mean less
corrosion, metals like gold platinum and tantalum can resist virtually all corrosion, but for marine
service the fnal choice will always be a compromise with cost.
Most corrosion resistant metals rely on an oxide flm to provide protection against
corrosion. If the oxide is tightly adherent, stable and self healing, as on many stainless steels and
titanium, then the metal will be highly resistant or immune to corrosion. If the flm is loose,
powdery, easily damaged and non self repairing, such as rust on steel, then corrosion will continue
unchecked. Even so, the most stable oxides may be attacked when aggressive concentrations of
hydrochloric acid are formed in chloride environments.
Sea water, by virtue of its chloride content, is a most efcient electrolyte. The omni-
presence of oxygen in marine atmospheres, sea spray and splash zones at the water-line, and
sometimes surprisingly at much greater depths, increases the aggressiveness of salt attack. The
diferential concentration of oxygen dissolved at the waterline or in a droplet of salt spray creates a
cell in which attack is concentrated where the oxygen concentration is lowest. Crevices which
allow ingress of water and chlorides but from which oxygen is excluded rapidly become anodic
54
and acidic and are hidden start points of corrosion.
Corrosion control:
There are fve main methods for controlling the tendency of metals to corrode in sea water:
By isolation of the corroding metal from the sea water by painting, or other coating
Changing the potential of the metal to a point where corrosion ceases - by impressed
voltage or coupling to a sacrifcial anode.
By making the metal passive, using corrosion inhibitors.
Changing the pH of the local environment by chemical dosing.
And fnally by making a change to a more corrosion resistant material.
Use of non metallic materials including composites may ofer a solution for some applications.
Factors which aggravate marine corrosion
Sea water, if not destructive enough on its own, has several powerful allies assisting the
breakdown of metals and non metals alike. Living allies in sea water also enhance its destructive
power. Microbiological organisms, clusterings of weed, limpets as well as deposits of sand, silt or
slime not only exclude oxygen but often create locally corrosive conditions under these deposits
which aggravate attack. Coatings and composite structures can experience rapid degradation.
Sulphate reducing bacteria, left undisturbed in marine silt or mud deposits, will produce
concentrations of hydrogen sulphide which are particularly aggressive to steel and copper based
alloys.
Pitting and Cavitation
Pitting attack in stagnant sea water may be as much a problem as impingement, erosion or
cavitation attack at higher velocities. The highest water velocities, at the tips of propellers or in
pumps can result in bubbles of entrained air imploding with sufcient energy to remove metal or
break up composites. Called cavitation, this noisy and aggressive mechanical destruction must be
corrected by design, or if it cannot be eliminated, countered by the selection of suitably resistant
alloys.
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Stress Corrosion
High levels of stress in service, or residual stress from manufacturing may result in selective
corrosion of more highly stressed regions of an otherwise corrosion resistant structure. In the
aggressive marine environment even the more resistant alloys may be afected by hydrogen-
induced cracking, or by chloride or sulphide stress corrosion cracking. Choosing the right
material for corrosion resistance also requires careful attention to component design, selection of
manufacturing processes, installation and operation.
Building structures to last
Let's now look at a simple example. A ship made from bare mild steel will quickly rust.
Protection by painting
Painting the ship isolates the steel from the corrosive media. The paint must also be
resistant to the marine environment and the application strictly controlled to ensure full and
efective coverage of the steel. Regular inspection and repair of the coating may be necessary to
achieve reliable and lasting protection.
Cathodic protection
Sacrifcial anodes enable the potential of the system to be changed and will provide
temporary protection to steel exposed by wear or damage of the protective coating. Systematic
location of the anodes is critical to their overall efectiveness. They must likewise be regularly
serviced and replaced when spent.
Inhibition
Inside the ship inhibitors which modify the corrosion process may efectively prevent attack
in bilges and other areas where sea water will collect and stagnate. Reliable systems to monitor
and maintain the correct concentration of the inhibitor are an essential aspect of this prevention
strategy.
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Galvanic corrosion
In practice ships are rarely made just from a single metal or alloy. Modern engineering
systems use a wide range composites and of metals and alloys, some more, some less resistant to
marine corrosion than steel. The more resistant alloys may aggravate the attack on adjacent
unprotected less resistant alloys. This galvanic efect is not always confned to separate metals,
some alloys improperly processed in manufacture or fabrication carry the seeds of their own
destruction in their microstructures which contain phases so widely separated in corrosion
potential that without further overall protection by coating, anodes or inhibitors, selective attack of
the less resistant phase is inevitable.
Using corrosion resitant alloys
Could ships and other marine structures be made from more corrosion resistant materials?
Depending on design factors including the severity of the application and the levels of strength,
damage tolerance, reliability, safety and life required, components and systems can be
manufactured from composites, or from stainless steels of increasing resistance, or from copper
based alloys such as cupro-nickel or nickel aluminium bronze, nickel alloys or titanium, using
these materials exclusively or in conjunction with each other or less resistant alloys. Protection for
the least resistant alloys by anodes, or impressed potential, requires careful control of the system
potential to avoid the possibility of hydrogen uptake by the more highly corrosion resistant alloys
such as super duplex steel and titanium.
Marine corrosion can be prevented
Key factors in prevention of marine corrosion are design, selection of materials,
construction, use and maintenance. Failings in any one of these may lead to a total failure to
prevent attack, which once started may cost far more to correct or eliminate than any notional
savings on materials achieved at the outset. In a recent survey corrosion was found to be
responsible for 30% of failures on ships and other marine equipment. These are expensive errors
arising from the selection and use of unsuitable materials and are compounded by ever increasing
penalties on vessels, civil and military for breakdown and unnecessarily short intervals between
outages for major repairs. On ofshore platforms the cost penalty for replacement of failed
equipment is several times that required for a similar onshore facility, and this does not take into
account any losses of oil or gas production.
2. Describe marine fouling.
Biofouling or biological fouling is the undesirable accumulation of microorganisms, plants,
57
algae, and/or animals on wetted structures.
Biofouling is especially economically signifcant on ships' hulls where high levels of fouling
can reduce the performance of the vessel and increase its fuel requirements. Biofouling is also
found in almost all circumstances where water based liquids are in contact with other materials.
Industrially important examples include membrane systems, such as membrane bioreactors and
reverse osmosis spiral wound membranes cooling water cycles of large industrial equipments and
power stations. Biofouling can also occur in oil pipelines carrying oils with entrained water
especially those carrying used oils, cutting oils, soluble oil or hydraulic oils.
Bio-fouling, especially of ships, has been a problem for many centuries and probably for as
long as mankind has been sailing the oceans. In Deipnosophistae, Athenaeus described the anti-
fouling eforts taken in the construction of the great ship of Hieron of Syracuse (died 467 BCE).
Before the 18th century various graving and paying techniques were used to try and prevent
fouling using three main substances: White stuf, which was a mixture of train oil, rosin and
brimstone; Black stuf, a mixture of tar and pitch; and Brown stuf, which was simply brimstone
added to Black stuf.
Copper sheathing was frst suggested in 1708 by Charles Perry, as an anti-fouling device but
the frst experiments with copper sheathing were not made until the late 1750s, at which time the
bottoms and sides of several ships' keels and false keels were sheathed with copper plates.
The copper performed very well in protecting the hull from invasion by worm, and in
preventing the growth of weed, for when in contact with water, the copper produced a poisonous
flm, composed mainly of oxychloride, that deterred these marine creatures. Furthermore, as this
flm was slightly soluble it gradually washed away, leaving no way in which marine life could
attach itself to the ship.From about 1770, the Royal Navy set about coppering the bottoms of the
entire feet and continued to the end of the use of wooden hulled ships. The process was so
successful that the term copper bottomed came to mean something that was highly dependable or
risk free.
Other areas of occurrence
Biofouling can also occur in groundwater wells where build-up can limit recovery fow
rates, and in the exterior and interior of ocean-laying pipes. In the latter case it has been shown to
retard the seawater fow through the pipe and has to be removed with the tube cleaning process.
Biofouling also occurs on the surfaces of living marine organisms, when it is known as epibiosis.
Types
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Biofouling is divided into microfouling bioflm formation and bacterial adhesion and
macrofouling attachment of larger organisms, of which the main culprits are barnacles,
mussels, polychaete worms, bryozoans, and seaweed. Together, these organisms form a fouling
community.
Individually small, accumulated biofoulers can form enormous masses that severely
diminish ships' maneuverability and carrying capacity. Fouling causes huge material and
economic costs in maintenance of mariculture, shipping industries, naval vessels, and seawater
pipelines. Governments and industry spend more than US$ 5.7 billion annually to prevent and
control marine biofouling.
Anti-fouling
Anti-fouling is the process of removing the accumulation, or preventing its accumulation.
In industrial processes bio-dispersants can be used to control biofouling.
Problems with anti-fouling
In order to minimize the impacts of foulers, many underwater structures are protected by
antifouling coatings. Many types of coatings, however, have been found to be toxic to marine
organisms. For example, extremely low concentrations of tributyltin moiety (TBT), the most
commonly used anti-fouling agent, cause defective shell growth in the oyster Crassostrea gigas (at a
concentration of 20 ng/l) and development of male characteristics in female genitalia in the dog
whelk Nucella lapillus (where gonocharacteristic change is initiated at 1 ng/l). The ban of
organotins such as TBT and triphenyltin (TPT), toxic biocides in marine coatings is a severe
problem for the shipping industry; it presents a major challenge for the producers of coatings to
develop alternative technologies to prevent fouling on ship hulls. Safer methods of biofouling
control are actively researched. Copper compounds have successfully been used in paints and
continue to be used as metal sheeting (for example Muntz metal which was specifcally made for
this purpose), though there is still debate as to the safety of copper. The Ofce of Naval Research
has developed environmentally safe biomimetic ship coatings that protect against both barnacles
and bioflms
.
2.Explain marine pollution.
Marine pollution occurs when harmful efects, or potentially harmful efects, can result from
the entry into the ocean of chemicals, particles, industrial, agricultural and residential waste, noise,
or the spread of invasive organisms. Most sources of marine pollution are land based. The
pollution often comes from nonpoint sources such as agricultural runof and wind blown debris.
59
Many potentially toxic chemicals adhere to tiny particles which are then taken up by plankton
and benthos animals, most of which are either deposit or flter feeders. In this way, the toxins are
concentrated upward within ocean food chains. Many particles combine chemically in a manner
highly depletive of oxygen, causing estuaries to become anoxic.
When pesticides are incorporated into the marine ecosystem, they quickly become absorbed
into marine food webs. Once in the food webs, these pesticides can cause mutations, as well as
diseases, which can be harmful to humans as well as the entire food web.
Toxic metals can also be introduced into marine food webs. These can cause a change to tissue
matter, biochemistry, behaviour, reproduction, and suppress growth in marine life. Also, many
animal feeds have a high fsh meal or fsh hydrolysate content. In this way, marine toxins can be
transferred to land animals, and appear later in meat and dairy products.
History
Although marine pollution has a long history, signifcant international laws to counter it
were enacted in the twentieth century. Marine pollution was a concern during several United
Nations Conferences on the Law of the Sea beginning in the 1950s. Most scientists believed that
the oceans were so vast that they had unlimited ability to dilute, and thus render harmless,
pollution. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, there were several controversies about dumping
radioactive waste of the coasts of the United States by companies licensed by the Atomic Energy
Commission, into the Irish Sea from the British reprocessing facility at Windscale, and into the
Mediterranean Sea by the French Commissariat l'Energie Atomique. After the Mediterranean Sea
controversy, for example, Jacques Cousteau became a worldwide fgure in the campaign to stop
marine pollution. Marine pollution made further international headlines after the 1967 crash of the
oil tanker Torrey Canyon, and after the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill of the coast of California.
Marine pollution was a major area of discussion during the 1972 United Nations Conference on
the Human Environment, held in Stockholm. That year also saw the signing of the Convention on
the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, sometimes called the
London Convention. The London Convention did not ban marine pollution, but it established
black and gray lists for substances to be banned (black) or regulated by national authorities (gray).
Cyanide and high-level radioactive waste, for example, were put on the black list. The London
Convention applied only to waste dumped from ships, and thus did nothing to regulate waste
discharged as liquids from pipelines.
[
Pathways of pollution
60
There are many diferent ways to categorize, and examine the inputs of pollution into our
marine ecosystems. Patin (n.d.) notes that generally there are three main types of inputs of
pollution into the ocean: direct discharge of waste into the oceans, runof into the waters due to
rain, and pollutants that are released from the atmosphere.
One common path of entry by contaminants to the sea are rivers. The evaporation of water
from oceans exceeds precipitation. The balance is restored by rain over the continents entering
rivers and then being returned to the sea. The Hudson in New York State and the Raritan in New
Jersey, which empty at the northern and southern ends of Staten Island, are a source of mercury
contamination of zooplankton (copepods) in the open ocean. The highest concentration in the
flter-feeding copepods is not at the mouths of these rivers but 70 miles south, nearer Atlantic City,
because water fows close to the coast. It takes a few days before toxins are taken up by the
plankton.
Pollution is often classed as point source or nonpoint source pollution. Point source
pollution occurs when there is a single, identifable, and localized source of the pollution. An
example is directly discharging sewage and industrial waste into the ocean. Pollution such as this
occurs particularly in developing nations. Nonpoint source pollution occurs when the pollution
comes from ill-defned and difuse sources. These can be difcult to regulate. Agricultural runof
and wind blown debris are prime examples.
Direct discharge
Pollutants enter rivers and the sea directly from urban sewerage and industrial waste
discharges, sometimes in the form of hazardous and toxic wastes.
Inland mining for copper, gold. etc., is another source of marine pollution. Most of the
pollution is simply soil, which ends up in rivers fowing to the sea. However, some minerals
discharged in the course of the mining can cause problems, such as copper, a common industrial
pollutant, which can interfere with the life history and development of coral polyps.
[2]
Mining has
a poor environmental track record. For example, according to the United States Environmental
Protection Agency, mining has contaminated portions of the headwaters of over 40% of
watersheds in the western continental US.
[3]
Much of this pollution fnishes up in the sea.
Land runof
Surface runof from farming, as well as urban runof and runof from the construction of
roads, buildings, ports, channels, and harbours, can carry soil and particles laden with carbon,
nitrogen, phosphorus, and minerals. This nutrient-rich water can cause feshy algae and
phytoplankton to thrive in coastal areas, known as algal blooms, which have the potential to create
61
hypoxic conditions by using all available oxygen.
Polluted runof from roads and highways can be a signifcant source of water pollution in
coastal areas. About 75 percent of the toxic chemicals that fow into Puget Sound are carried by
stormwater that runs of paved roads and driveways, rooftops, yards and other developed land.
Ship pollution
Ships can pollute waterways and oceans in many ways. Oil spills can have devastating
efects. While being toxic to marine life, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), the components
in crude oil, are very difcult to clean up, and last for years in the sediment and marine
environment.
Discharge of cargo residues from bulk carriers can pollute ports, waterways and oceans. In
many instances vessels intentionally discharge illegal wastes despite foreign and domestic
regulation prohibiting such actions. It has been estimated that container ships lose over 10,000
containers at sea each year (usually during storms). Ships also create noise pollution that disturbs
natural wildlife, and water from ballast tanks can spread harmful algae and other invasive species.
Ballast water taken up at sea and released in port is a major source of unwanted exotic
marine life. The invasive freshwater zebra mussels, native to the Black, Caspian and Azov seas,
were probably transported to the Great Lakes via ballast water from a transoceanic vessel. Meinesz
believes that one of the worst cases of a single invasive species causing harm to an ecosystem can
be attributed to a seemingly harmless jellyfsh. Mnemiopsis leidyi, a species of comb jellyfsh that
spread so it now inhabits estuaries in many parts of the world. It was frst introduced in 1982, and
thought to have been transported to the Black Sea in a ships ballast water. The population of the
jellyfsh shot up exponentially and, by 1988, it was wreaking havoc upon the local fshing industry.
The anchovy catch fell from 204,000 tons in 1984 to 200 tons in 1993; sprat from 24,600 tons in
1984 to 12,000 tons in 1993; horse mackerel from 4,000 tons in 1984 to zero in 1993.
[7]
Now that the
jellyfsh have exhausted the zooplankton, including fsh larvae, their numbers have fallen
dramatically, yet they continue to maintain a stranglehold on the ecosystem.
Invasive species can take over once occupied areas, facilitate the spread of new diseases,
introduce new genetic material, alter underwater seascapes and jeopardize the ability of native
species to obtain food. Invasive species are responsible for about $138 billion annually in lost
revenue and management costs in the US alone.
Atmospheric pollution
Another pathway of pollution occurs through the atmosphere. Wind blown dust and
62
debris, including plastic bags, are blown seaward from landflls and other areas. Dust from the
Sahara moving around the southern periphery of the subtropical ridge moves into the Caribbean
and Florida during the warm season as the ridge builds and moves northward through the
subtropical Atlantic. Dust can also be attributed to a global transport from the Gobi and
Taklamakan deserts across Korea, Japan, and the Northern Pacifc to the Hawaiian Islands.
Since 1970, dust outbreaks have worsened due to periods of drought in Africa. There is a
large variability in dust transport to the Caribbean and Florida from year to year; however, the fux
is greater during positive phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation. The USGS links dust events to a
decline in the health of coral reefs across the Caribbean and Florida, primarily since the 1970s.
Climate change is raising ocean temperatures and raising levels of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere. These rising levels of carbon dioxide are acidifying the oceans. This, in turn, is
altering aquatic ecosystems and modifying fsh distributions, with impacts on the sustainability of
fsheries and the livelihoods of the communities that depend on them. Healthy ocean ecosystems
are also important for the mitigation of climate change.
Deep sea mining
Deep sea mining is a relatively new mineral retrieval process that takes place on the ocean
foor. Ocean mining sites are usually around large areas of polymetallic nodules or active and
extinct hydrothermal vents at about 1,400 - 3,700 meters below the oceans surface. The vents
create sulfde deposits, which contain precious metals such as silver, gold, copper, manganese,
cobalt, and zinc. The deposits are mined using either hydraulic pumps or bucket systems that take
ore to the surface to be processed. As with all mining operations, deep sea mining raises questions
about environmental damages to the surrounding areas.
Because deep sea mining is a relatively new feld, the complete consequences of full scale
mining operations are unknown. However, experts are certain that removal of parts of the sea foor
will result in disturbances to the benthic layer, increased toxicity of the water column and
sediment plumes from tailings. Removing parts of the sea foor disturbs the habitat of benthic
organisms, possibly, depending on the type of mining and location, causing permanent
disturbances. Aside from direct impact of mining the area, leakage, spills and corrosion would
alter the mining areas chemical makeup.
Among the impacts of deep sea mining, sediment plumes could have the greatest impact.
Plumes are caused when the tailings from mining (usually fne particles) are dumped back into
the ocean, creating a cloud of particles foating in the water. Two types of plumes occur: near
bottom plumes and surface plumes.
[19]
Near bottom plumes occur when the tailings are pumped
back down to the mining site. The foating particles increase the turbidity, or cloudiness, of the
63
water, clogging flter-feeding apparatuses used by benthic organisms. Surface plumes cause a
more serious problem. Depending on the size of the particles and water currents the plumes could
spread over vast areas. The plumes could impact zooplankton and light penetration, in turn
afecting the food web of the area.
Acidifcation
The oceans are normally a natural carbon sink, absorbing carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere. Because the levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide are increasing, the oceans are
becoming more acidic. The potential consequences of ocean acidifcation are not fully understood,
but there are concerns that structures made of calcium carbonate may become vulnerable to
dissolution, afecting corals and the ability of shellfsh to form shells.
Oceans and coastal ecosystems play an important role in the global carbon cycle and have
removed about 25% of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activities between 2000 and 2007 and
about half the anthropogenic CO
2
released since the start of the industrial revolution. Rising ocean
temperatures and ocean acidifcation means that the capacity of the ocean carbon sink will
gradually get weaker, giving rise to global concerns expressed in the Monaco and Manado
Declarations.
A report from NOAA scientists published in the journal Science in May 2008 found that
large amounts of relatively acidifed water are upwelling to within four miles of the Pacifc
continental shelf area of North America. This area is a critical zone where most local marine life
lives or is born. While the paper dealt only with areas from Vancouver to northern California,
other continental shelf areas may be experiencing similar efects.
A related issue is the methane clathrate reservoirs found under sediments on the ocean
foors. These trap large amounts of the greenhouse gas methane, which ocean warming has the
potential to release. In 2004 the global inventory of ocean methane clathrates was estimated to
occupy between one and fve million cubic kilometres. If all these clathrates were to be spread
uniformly across the ocean foor, this would translate to a thickness between three and fourteen
metres. This estimate corresponds to 500-2500 gigatonnes carbon (Gt C), and can be compared
with the 5000 Gt C estimated for all other fossil fuel reserves.
Eutrophication
Eutrophication is an increase in chemical nutrients, typically compounds containing
nitrogen or phosphorus, in an ecosystem. It can result in an increase in the ecosystem's primary
productivity (excessive plant growth and decay), and further efects including lack of oxygen and
64
severe reductions in water quality, fsh, and other animal populations.
The biggest culprit are rivers that empty into the ocean, and with it the many chemicals
used as fertilizers in agriculture as well as waste from livestock and humans. An excess of oxygen
depleting chemicals in the water can lead to hypoxia and the creation of a dead zone.
Estuaries tend to be naturally eutrophic because land-derived nutrients are concentrated
where runof enters the marine environment in a confned channel. The World Resources Institute
has identifed 375 hypoxic coastal zones around the world, concentrated in coastal areas in
Western Europe, the Eastern and Southern coasts of the US, and East Asia, particularly in Japan. In
the ocean, there are frequent red tide algae blooms that kill fsh and marine mammals and cause
respiratory problems in humans and some domestic animals when the blooms reach close to
shore.
In addition to land runof, atmospheric anthropogenic fxed nitrogen can enter the open
ocean. A study in 2008 found that this could account for around one third of the oceans external
(non-recycled) nitrogen supply and up to three per cent of the annual new marine biological
production. It has been suggested that accumulating reactive nitrogen in the environment may
have consequences as serious as putting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Plastic debris
Marine debris is mainly discarded human rubbish which foats on, or is suspended in the
ocean. Eighty percent of marine debris is plastic - a component that has been rapidly accumulating
since the end of World War II. The mass of plastic in the oceans may be as high as one hundred
million metric tons.
Discarded plastic bags, six pack rings and other forms of plastic waste which fnish up in
the ocean present dangers to wildlife and fsheries. Aquatic life can be threatened through
entanglement, sufocation, and ingestion. Fishing nets, usually made of plastic, can be left or lost in
the ocean by fshermen. Known as ghost nets, these entangle fsh, dolphins, sea turtles, sharks,
dugongs, crocodiles, seabirds, crabs, and other creatures, restricting movement, causing
starvation, laceration and infection, and, in those that need to return to the surface to breathe,
sufocation.Many animals that live on or in the sea consume fotsam by mistake, as it often looks
similar to their natural prey. Plastic debris, when bulky or tangled, is difcult to pass, and may
become permanently lodged in the digestive tracts of these animals, blocking the passage of food
and causing death through starvation or infection.Plastics accumulate because they don't
biodegrade in the way many other substances do. They will photodegrade on exposure to the sun,
but they do so properly only under dry conditions, and water inhibits this process. In marine
65
environments, photodegraded plastic disintegrates into ever smaller pieces while remaining
polymers, even down to the molecular level. When foating plastic particles photodegrade down to
zooplankton sizes, jellyfsh attempt to consume them, and in this way the plastic enters the ocean
food chain. Many of these long-lasting pieces end up in the stomachs of marine birds and animals,
including sea turtles, and black-footed albatross.
Plastic debris tends to accumulate at the centre of ocean gyres. In particular, the Great
Pacifc Garbage Patch has a very high level of plastic particulate suspended in the upper water
column. In samples taken in 1999, the mass of plastic exceeded that of zooplankton (the dominant
animal life in the area) by a factor of six. Midway Atoll, in common with all the Hawaiian Islands,
receives substantial amounts of debris from the garbage patch. Ninety percent plastic, this debris
accumulates on the beaches of Midway where it becomes a hazard to the bird population of the
island. Midway Atoll is home to two-thirds (1.5 million) of the global population of Laysan
Albatross. Nearly all of these albatross have plastic in their digestive system and one-third of their
chicks die.
Toxic additives used in the manufacture of plastic materials can leach out into their
surroundings when exposed to water. Waterborne hydrophobic pollutants collect and magnify on
the surface of plastic debris, thus making plastic far more deadly in the ocean than it would be on
land. Hydrophobic contaminants are also known to bioaccumulate in fatty tissues, biomagnifying
up the food chain and putting pressure on apex predators. Some plastic additives are known to
disrupt the endocrine system when consumed, others can suppress the immune system or
decrease reproductive rates. Floating debris can also absorb persistent organic pollutants from
seawater, including PCBs, DDT and PAHs. Aside from toxic efects, when ingested some of these
are mistaken by the animal brain for estradiol, causing hormone disruption in the afected wildlife.
Toxins
Apart from plastics, there are particular problems with other toxins that do not disintegrate
rapidly in the marine environment. Examples of persistent toxins are PCBs, DDT, pesticides,
furans, dioxins, phenols and radioactive waste. Heavy metals are metallic chemical elements that
have a relatively high density and are toxic or poisonous at low concentrations. Examples are
mercury, lead, nickel, arsenic and cadmium. Such toxins can accumulate in the tissues of many
species of aquatic life in a process called bioaccumulation. They are also known to accumulate in
benthic environments, such as estuaries and bay muds: a geological record of human activities of
the last century.
4. Explain in detail about algae as biological indicator of marine pollution.
66
Most of the algae are aquatic and are found in fresh water or marine habitat. Therefore,
they are related with diferent aspects of fresh-water or marine pollution.
Algae as water pollutants
During the favourable season of algal growth, water bodies like lakes, ponds and rivers
show so much growth of various species of blue-green algae, green algae and golden brown algae
that the water becomes turbid, cloudy and yellowish/greenish in colour. Filamentous planktonic
algae form thick foating mats on the water surface. Such excessive algal growth is called water
bloom. This bloom cuts of the light to deeper layers of water body and thus inhibits
decomposition of organic matter in that water body. The algae further add a large amount of
organic matter after death and decay to the water body which is not decomposed quickly due to
prevailing conditions in that water body. This causes serious water pollution.
Many algae like Microcystis, Aphanizomenon produce toxic substances that are harmful to
fshes and aquatic animals. These toxins also harm the land animals drinking this polluted water.
In general, water blooms make water oily, unpleasant in smell, fshy in taste and unft for drinking.
Many species of blue-green and green algae that form excessive growths also choke the
water tanks, pipe lines and other associated installations causing undesirable problems.
Algae as pollution indicators
Analysis of the composition and growth pattern of the algal fora in a water body can be
used to identify the type and level of water pollution. Such studies of algal fora have been used in
identifcation of following types of water pollution problems:
1. Water acidity: Increase in the acidity of water initially causes general increase in flamentous
algae. However, high levels of water acidity due to pollution by acid forming chemicals or acid
rains results in decrease in planktonic algae in the water body. Most algae and diatoms disappear
completely in water below the pH 5.8.
2. Diatoms are highly sensitive to pH and diferent species of diatoms are found at diferent pH
values of water body. Thus changes in the species composition of diatoms very accurately
indicates the pH level of the water body.
3. Sewage, organic matter and chemical fertilizers: Increase in the organic matter or chemical
fertilizers that are washed of into the water body results in increased nutrient supply for algal
growth. Such a condition of increased nutrient supply is termed eutrophication and results in
water blooms of various types of algae. The water blooms of planktonic algae like Microcystis,
Scendensmus, Hydrodictyon andChlorella indicate pollution of water body due to excessive addition
of organic matter, nitrates or phosphates.
67
4. Heavy metals: Some algae like Cladophora and Stigeoclonium absorb and accumulate many heavy
metals from the water. Thus the excessive growth of these algae in the water indicates pollution
due to heavy metals.
5. Oil pollution: Excessive growth of algae like Duniella tertiolacta, Skeletonema costatum,
Cricosphaera carterae, Amphidium carterae, Cyclotella cryptica and Pavlova lutheri indicate oil pollution
of water bodies.
Algae in pollution control
Algae like Chlorella, Chlamydomonas, Scendensmus and Spirullina are grown in sewage
treatment plants along with suitable bacteria (algal-bacterial systems). Organic sewage degraded
by bacteria is used up by algae in their photosynthesis and growth. The abundant algal growth the
treatment plant is periodically removed and used as animal feed or source of protein. The polluted
water is thus cleaned by the combined action of bacteria and algae.
For the treatment of water containing metals as pollutants, algae like Chlorella are cultured
in the polluted water. These algae absorb the metals from the water. The algal growth is
periodically removed and destroyed.
UNIT IV
MARINE PHARMACOLOGY
PART-A (2 MARKS)
1. Defne marine toxins.
Marine toxins are naturally occurring chemicals that can contaminate certain seafood. The
seafood contaminated with these chemicals frequently looks, smells, and tastes normal, but can
make people sick if they eat it.
2. Wthat are the three types of marine toxins.
There are three main types of marine toxins:
Those caused by eating fsh, including:
Scombrotoxic fsh poisoning
Ciguatera poisoning
Tetrodotoxin poisoning (fugu or puferfsh poisoning)
Those caused by eating shellfsh, including:
Paralytic shellfsh poisoning (PSP)
68
Red tide/neurotoxic shellfsh poisoning (NSP)
Diarrheic shellfsh poisoning (DSP)
Amnesic shellfsh poisoning (ASP)
Those caused by contaminated water, including:
Aerosolized Florida red tide/brevetoxins
Blue-green algae (Cyanobacteria)
Pfesteria and the Pfesteria-like organisms (PLOs)
3. Name any four antiviral compounds derived from marine organisms.
Ara-A (vidarabine)
Macrolactin-A
Caprolactin A & B
Halovir-A
4. Name the antifungal compounds derived from marine organisms.
Haliclonadiamine, an Alkaloid isolated from Haliclona Sp. from Palau AndAlkyl Amino
Alcohols, Halaminols A, B And C from the tropical marine sponge Haliclona Sp.,
5. Write a note onScombrotoxic fsh poisoning
Also known as scombroid or histamine fsh poisoning, is caused by bacterial spoilage of
certain fnfsh such as tuna, mackerel, bonito, and, rarely, other fsh. As bacteria break down
fsh proteins, byproducts such as histamine and other substances that block histamine
breakdown build up in fsh. Eating spoiled fsh that have high levels of these histamines can
cause human disease.
Symptoms begin within 2 minutes to 2 hours after eating the fsh. The most common
symptoms are rash, diarrhea, fushing, sweating, headache, and vomiting. Burning or
swelling of the mouth, abdominal pain, or a metallic taste may also occur. The majority of
patients have mild symptoms that resolve within a few hours.
Treatment is generally unnecessary, but antihistamines or epinephrine may be needed in
certain instances. Symptoms may be more severe in patients taking certain medications that
slow the breakdown of histamine by the liver, such as isoniazid and doxycycline.
6. Write a note onTetrodotoxin poisoning
Tetrodotoxin causes this type of poisoning; it is found the liver, gonads, intestines, and skin
of puferfsh (fugu), as well as in less-commonly eaten animals like California newt,
parrotfsh, frogs of the genus Atelopus, the blue-ringed octopus, starfsh, angelfsh, and
69
xanthid crabs. The disease is potentially deadly. Most cases are from fsh in the Pacifc, and
the disease is particularly notorious in Japan, where puferfsh is a delicacy and must be
prepared in such a way as to avoid serving toxin to diners.
Symptoms include numbness of the lips and tongue, tingling in the body, and a sensation
of lightness. Nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, and belly pain may occur. Paralysis sets in
after that, as well as difculty breathing. Eventually heart rhythm abnormalities, seizures,
and death follow. Death may occur in as quickly as 20 minutes.
[

Treatment is supportive, and may include giving the person charcoal, pumping the
stomach, giving IV fuids, and placing them on a ventilator in severe cases. There is no
antidote.
7. Write a note on Amnesic shellfsh poisoning
Amnesic shellfsh poisoning is a rare syndrome caused by a toxin made by a microscopic,
red-brown, salt-water plant, or diatom called Nitzchia pungens. The toxin produced by these
diatoms is concentrated in shellfsh such as mussels and causes disease when the
contaminated shellfsh are eaten. The active molecule involved in amnesic shellfsh
poisoning is domoic acid, and works by stimulating glutamate receptors in the central
nervous system.
Patients frst experience gastrointestinal distress within 24 hours after eating the
contaminated shellfsh. Other reported symptoms have included dizziness, headache,
disorientation, and permanent short-term memory loss. In severe poisoning, seizures, focal
weakness or paralysis, and death may occur.
PART-B (16 MARKS)
1.Explain marine toxins.
Marine toxins are naturally occurring chemicals that can contaminate certain seafood. The
seafood contaminated with these chemicals frequently looks, smells, and tastes normal, but can
make people sick if they eat it.
Types
There are three main types of marine toxins:
Those caused by eating fsh, including:
Ciguatera poisoning
Tetrodotoxin poisoning (fugu or puferfsh poisoning)
70
Those caused by eating shellfsh, including:
Paralytic shellfsh poisoning (PSP)
Red tide/neurotoxic shellfsh poisoning (NSP)
Diarrheic shellfsh poisoning (DSP)
Amnesic shellfsh poisoning (ASP)
Those caused by contaminated water, including:
Aerosolized Florida red tide/brevetoxins
Pfesteria and the Pfesteria-like organisms (PLOs)
In United States, the most common diseases caused by marine toxins, in order of incidence, are
scombroid poisoning, ciguatera poisoning, paralytic shellfsh poisoning, neurotoxic shellfsh
poisoning and amnesic shellfsh poisoning.
Fish
Also known as scombroid or histamine fsh poisoning, is caused by bacterial spoilage of
certain fnfsh such as tuna, mackerel, bonito, and, rarely, other fsh. As bacteria break down
fsh proteins, byproducts such as histamine and other substances that block histamine
breakdown build up in fsh. Eating spoiled fsh that have high levels of these histamines can
cause human disease.
Symptoms begin within 2 minutes to 2 hours after eating the fsh. The most common
symptoms are rash, diarrhea, fushing, sweating, headache, and vomiting. Burning or
swelling of the mouth, abdominal pain, or a metallic taste may also occur. The majority of
patients have mild symptoms that resolve within a few hours.
Treatment is generally unnecessary, but antihistamines or epinephrine may be needed in
certain instances. Symptoms may be more severe in patients taking certain medications that
slow the breakdown of histamine by the liver, such as isoniazid and doxycycline.
Ciguatera poisoning
Ciguatera is caused by eating contaminated tropical reef fsh. Ciguatoxins that cause
ciguatera poisoning are actually produced by microscopic sea plants called dinofagellates.
Dinofagellates are single-celled marine organisms that are extremely diverse. About 90% of
them are marine plankton with two small protein strands called fagella that makes it
possible for them to move through the water. They are a source of food for many other
marine organisms. The toxins become progressively concentrated as they move up the food
chain from small fsh to large fsh that eat them, and reach particularly high concentrations
71
in large predatory tropical reef fsh. Barracuda are commonly associated with ciguatoxin
poisoning, but eating grouper, sea bass, snapper, mullet, and a number of other fsh that
live in tropical oceans has caused the disease. These fsh are typically caught by sport
fshermen on reefs in Hawaii, Guam and other South Pacifc islands, the Virgin Islands, and
Puerto Rico. Ciguatoxin and the closely-related maitotoxin are both produced by
dinofagellates and cause symptoms by interfering with ion channels on cell membranes.
Ciguatoxin opens sodium channels and maitotoxin opens calcium channels, disrupting the
signaling between nerves and muscles.
Ciguatoxin usually causes symptoms within a few minutes to 30 hours after eating
contaminated fsh, and occasionally it may take up to 6 hours. Common nonspecifc
symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramps, excessive sweating, headache, and
muscle aches. The sensation of burning or "pins-and-needles," weakness, itching, and
dizziness can occur. Patients may experience reversal of temperature sensation in their
mouth (hot surfaces feeling cold and cold, hot), unusual taste sensations, nightmares, or
hallucinations. Ciguatera poisoning is rarely fatal. Symptoms usually clear in 1 to 4 weeks.
Treatment is generally supportive; mannitol (an osmotic diuretic) may be used to increase
urine output.
[2]

72
Tetrodotoxin poisoning
Tetrodotoxin causes this type of poisoning; it is found the liver, gonads, intestines, and skin
of puferfsh (fugu), as well as in less-commonly eaten animals like California newt,
parrotfsh, frogs of the genus Atelopus, the blue-ringed octopus, starfsh, angelfsh, and
xanthid crabs.
[3]
The disease is potentially deadly. Most cases are from fsh in the Pacifc,
and the disease is particularly notorious in Japan, where puferfsh is a delicacy and must
be prepared in such a way as to avoid serving toxin to diners.
Symptoms include numbness of the lips and tongue, tingling in the body, and a sensation
of lightness. Nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, and belly pain may occur. Paralysis sets in
after that, as well as difculty breathing. Eventually heart rhythm abnormalities, seizures,
and death follow. Death may occur in as quickly as 20 minutes.
Treatment is supportive, and may include giving the person charcoal, pumping the
stomach, giving IV fuids, and placing them on a ventilator in severe cases. There is no
antidote.
Shellfsh
Paralytic shellfsh poisoning
Paralytic shellfsh poisoning is caused by a diferent dinofagellate with a diferent toxin
than the one responsible for ciguatera poisoning. These dinofagellates have a red-brown
color, and can grow to such numbers that they cause red streaks to appear in the ocean
called "red tides." This toxin is known to concentrate within certain shellfsh that typically
live in the colder coastal waters of the Pacifc states and New England. The syndrome has
been reported in Central America as well. Shellfsh that have caused this disease include
mussels, cockles, clams, scallops, oysters, crabs, and lobsters. Saxitoxin is the poisonous
molecule in these organisms that causes paralysis by blocking sodium channels necessary
for muscles to contract.
Symptoms begin anywhere from 15 minutes to 10 hours after eating the contaminated
shellfsh, although usually within 2 hours. Symptoms are generally mild, and begin with
numbness or tingling of the face, arms, and legs. This is followed by headache, dizziness,
nausea, and muscular incoordination. Patients sometimes describe a foating sensation. In
cases of severe poisoning, muscle paralysis and respiratory failure occur, and in these cases
death may occur in 2 to 25 hours.
Treatment: There is no specifc antidote; victims require supportive care that may include
mechanical ventilation.
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Red tide/neurotoxic shellfsh poisoning
Neurotoxic shellfsh poisoning is caused by a third type of dinofagellate with another toxin
that occasionally accumulates in oysters, clams, and mussels from the Gulf of Mexico and
the Atlantic coast of the southern United States. Brevetoxin is the poisonous molecule in this
case, and acts by opening sodium channels (as opposed to saxitoxin, which blocks them).
Symptoms begin 1 to 3 hours after eating the contaminated shellfsh and include
numbness, tingling in the mouth, arms and legs, incoordination, and gastrointestinal upset.
As in ciguatera poisoning, some patients report temperature reversal. Death is rare.
Recovery normally occurs in 2 to 3 days.
Treatment: Supportive care is given to help the patient feel more comfortable while
recovering.
Diarrheic shellfsh poisoning
Diarrheic shellfsh poisoning is caused by the accumuluation of a toxin called okadaic acid.
This acid is produced by dinofagellates, which are the food of bivalve shellfsh. The acid
builds up in the shellfsh and causes toxic symptoms in people who eat them. Commonly
afected shellfsh include mussels, oysters, and scallops.
Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain accompanied by chills,
headache, and fever. The symptoms are generally mild and subside on their own in 2 or
days.
Amnesic shellfsh poisoning
Amnesic shellfsh poisoning is a rare syndrome caused by a toxin made by a microscopic,
red-brown, salt-water plant, or diatom called Nitzchia pungens. The toxin produced by these
diatoms is concentrated in shellfsh such as mussels and causes disease when the
contaminated shellfsh are eaten. The active molecule involved in amnesic shellfsh
poisoning is domoic acid, and works by stimulating glutamate receptors in the central
nervous system.
Patients frst experience gastrointestinal distress within 24 hours after eating the
contaminated shellfsh. Other reported symptoms have included dizziness, headache,
disorientation, and permanent short-term memory loss. In severe poisoning, seizures, focal
weakness or paralysis, and death may occur.
Contaminated water
The dinofagellate Karenia brevis annually blooms, or undergoes especially abundant
growth, in waters of the coast of Florida. These blooms are called red tides. When it does
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so, it releases brevetoxins into the air. This leads to fsh and marine mammal deaths as well
as irritation of the respiratory tract in humans. These are the same brevetoxins that lead to
neurotoxic shellfsh poisoning in contaminated shellfsh, but in this case the toxins are in
the air.
Blue-green algae are actually a type of bacteria called cyanobacteria. Some kinds, such as
Anabaena, Aphanizomenon, and Microcystis species native to North America, produce toxins
sporadically, while others such as the Indian native Cylindrospermopsis produce it all the
time. These algae, also known as pond scum, have been known to kill livestock that drink
the water in which the algae are growing. Blue-green algae can produce both neurotoxins,
which afect the nervous system, and hepatotoxins, which afect the liver. These toxins can
quickly kill livestock who drink contaminated water.
Symptoms in humans include fever, sore throat, dizziness, stomach cramps, diarrhea or
vomiting, which may last for several days. Swimming may lead to irritated eyes or skin.
Deaths have occasionally been reported.
Pfesteria and the Pfesteria-like organisms
Pfesteria are dinofagellate organisms found in estuaries, which are areas where rivers
empty into oceans. These organisms were discovered in the 1990s in association with large-
scale fsh die-ofs in the Chesapeake Bay of the United States.
Symptoms of exposure include eye and respiratory irritation, headache, and
gastrointestinal complaints; skin irritation; and difculties with learning and memory.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of marine toxin poisoning is generally based on symptoms and a history of
recently eating a particular kind of seafood. Laboratory testing for the specifc toxin in patient
samples is generally not necessary because this requires special techniques and equipment
available in only specialized laboratories. If leftover fsh or shellfsh are available, they can be
tested for the presence of the toxin more easily. Identifcation of the specifc toxin is not usually
necessary for treating patients because there is no specifc treatment.
Treatment
Other than supportive care there are few specifc treatments for ciguatera poisoning,
paralytic shellfsh poisoning, neurotoxic shellfsh poisoning, or amnesic shellfsh poisoning.
Antihistamines and epinephrine, however, may sometimes be useful in treating the symptoms of
scombrotoxic fsh poisoning. Intravenous mannitol has been suggested for the treatment of severe
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ciguatera poisoning.
Long-term consequences
Ciguatera poisoning has resulted in some neurologic problems that can last for weeks, and
in rare cases, even years. Symptoms have sometimes returned after eating contaminated fsh a
second time. Shellfsh poisoning has resulted in long-term problems with short-term memory in
some people. Long-term consequences have not been associated with paralytic shellfsh poisoning,
neurotoxic shellfsh poisoning, and scombrotoxic fsh poisoning.
Chances of Developing Marine Toxin Poisoning
In the United States, approximately 30 cases of poisoning by marine toxins are reported
each year. Because health care providers are not required to report these illnesses and because
many milder cases are not diagnosed or reported, the actual number of poisonings is much
greater. Toxic seafood poisonings are more common in the summer than winter because
dinofagellates grow well in warmer seasons. It is estimated from cases with available data that
one person dies every 4 years from toxic seafood poisonings.
Prevention
It is important to notify public health departments about even one person with marine toxin
poisoning. Investigators can then try to determine if a specifc restaurant, oyster bed, or fshing
area has a problem. This prevents other illnesses. In any food poisoning occurrence, consumers
should note foods eaten and freeze any uneaten portions in case they need to be tested. In Hawaii,
a commercial test has been developed to allow persons to test sport-caught fsh for ciguatoxins.
Guidelines for safe seafood consumption
Although anyone eating fsh or shellfsh containing toxin or disease-causing bacteria may
become ill, persons with weakened immune systems or liver problems should not eat raw
seafood because of their higher risk of infection.
Seafood should be kept on ice or refrigerated at less than 38 Fahrenheit to prevent spoilage.
Avoiding marine toxin poisoning
1.Fresh tuna, mackerel, grouper, and mahi mahi should be refrigerated to prevent
development of histamine. Cooking spoiled or toxic seafood will not make it safe to eat.
These toxins are not destroyed by cooking.
2.Barracuda should not be eaten, especially not those from the Caribbean.
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3.Local health ofcials should be consulted before shellfsh are collected. Health Department
advisories about algal blooms, dinofagellate growth or "redtide" conditions may be posted
at fshing supply stores.
4.Finfsh or shellfsh sold as bait should not be eaten. Bait products do not need to meet the
same food safety regulations as seafood for human consumption.
2.Explain about the antiviral compounds derived from marine microorganisms.
Marine sponges are currently one of the richest sources of pharmacologically active compounds
found in the marine environment. These bioactive molecules are often secondary metabolites,
whose main function is to enable and/or modulate cellular communication and defense. They are
usually produced by functional enzyme clusters in sponges and/or their associated symbiotic
microorganisms. Natural product lead compounds from sponges have often been found to be
promising pharmaceutical agents. Several of them have successfully been approved as antiviral
agents for clinical use or have been advanced to the late stages of clinical trials. Most of these
drugs are used for the treatment of human immunodefciency virus (HIV) and herpes simplex
virus (HSV). The most important antiviral lead of marine origin reported thus far is nucleoside
Ara-A (vidarabine) isolated from sponge Tethya crypta. It inhibits viral DNA polymerase and DNA
synthesis of herpes, vaccinica and varicella zoster viruses.
Antiviral compounds are currently of particular interest since viral diseases (e.g., HIV,
H1N1, HSV, etc.) have become major human health problems in recent decades. The ability of a
virus to rapidly evolve and develop resistance to existing pharmaceuticals calls for continuing
development of new antiviral drugs. Several lead antiviral compounds have been isolated from
marine sponges, and there has been a consistent efort to identify new compounds
A.Vidarabine or Ara-A :
It is isolated from the Caribbean sponge Tethya crypta (Tethylidae) the nucleosides
spongothymidine and spongouridine, which contained an arabinose sugar rather than the more
common ribose sugar found in these nucleosides. Vidarabine or Ara-A is a synthetic analogue of
spongouridine with improved antiviral activity. The antiviral activity of adenine arabinoside
(vidarabine, Ara-A) was frst described by Privat de Garilhe and De Rudder in 1964 [10]. The work
of Whitley in 1976 further confrmed the clinical usefulness of the compound in the treatment of
herpes encephalitis and the other herpes infections that occasionally occur in newborns. It was the
frst nucleoside antiviral to be licensed for the treatment of systematic herpes virus infection and
one of the three marine-derived drugs currently approved by the FDA in the United States
,however the marketing of the drug has been discontinued because the availability of newer and
better antiviral agents on the market.
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Despite its proven ability as a therapeutic agent which is active against a variety of viruses,
vidarabine has some signifcant limitations. It is readily metabolized by adenosine deaminase
(ADA) to arabinofuranosyl hypoxanthine (ara-H), which is 10-fold less potent and has low
lipophilicity and thus low intestinal membrane permeability. It is also poorly soluble in aqueous
solutions and has low intramuscular absorption, requires large fuid volumes for intravenous
administration, and must be given over prolonged periods (8 to 12 h) to obtain therapeutic efects.
Later acyclovir (Zovirax) was found to be a better drug than vidarabine for the treatment of herpes
virus infections however vidarabine was reported to be capable of inhibiting acyclovir-resistant
HSV and VZV (varicella-zoster virus). Vidarabine is an inhibitor of viral DNA synthesis.
B.Mycalamide A, Mycalamide B :
Perry et al frst reported the isolation and in vitro antiviral activity of mycalamide A and
mycalamide B from a New Zealand sponge of the genus Mycale in 1988 and 1990, respectively. The
crude extract containing 2% mycalamide A was found to be active against A59 corona virus. After
treatment with crude extract at 0.1 mg/kg, mice infected with virus survived for 14 days, however
the mice infected with virus died within eight days. Mycalamide A also inhibited the Herpes
simplex type I and Polio type I viruses at a concentration of 5 ng/disc. Mycalamide B was found to
be more potent than mycalamide A, which was active at a concentration of 12 ng/disc.
Examining the mechanisms involved in the actions of these compounds, Burres and Clement
discovered the inhibition of protein synthesis and translation of RNA into protein in a cell-free
lysate of rabbit reticulocytes . A new study also described the binding of mycalamide A to the E
site of the large ribosomal subunit of Haloarcula marismortui and inhibition of protein synthesis .
This property of protein synthesis inhibition may be attributed to their biological activity as
antiviral agents.
Several studies regarding the total synthesis of mycalamides have been published. Four
analogues of mycalamide A have recently been reported to bind the nucleoprotein (NP) of
infuenza virus and inhibit its multiplication. It has also shown experimentally that these
compounds might bind to the N-terminal 13-amino acid region of NP which mediates the nuclear
transport of NP and its binding to viral RNA, and hence may inhibit viral replication .
Sesquiterpene Hydroquinones
Avarol
Avarol, a sesquiterpenoid hydroquinone with a rearranged drimane skeleton, was frst
isolated from the marine sponge Disidea avara in 1974 .
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The compound showed a dose-dependent inhibitory efect on the replication of the
etiologic agent of acquired immune defciency syndrome (AIDS) and human T-lymphotropic
retrovirus (HTLV III)/lymphadenopathy-associated virus in human H9 cells in vitro at a
concentration of 0.1 g/mL. The study suggested that the mechanism involved blocking the
expression of the p24 and p17 gag proteins of HTLV-III in H9 cells after virus infection, and hence
blocking viral replication. Studies dating back to 1988 showed that the antiviral efects of avarol
were due to an increase in intracellular levels of superoxide radicals such as superoxide
dismutases and of glutathione peroxidase. The efects of avarol were further elucidated and it was
found that it completely blocks the synthesis of glutamine transfer tRNA, which is crucial for
synthesis of a viral protease required for viral proliferation. Other important biological targets
inhibited by avarol or its derivatives include reverse transcriptase which plays a key role in early
stages of viral infection, inhibition of cyclooxygenase and 5-lipoxygenase, thus reducing the levels
of leukotriene B4 and prostaglandin E2 in vitro in HIV-1 infected monocytes, and modulating the
expression of genes in HIV-infected cells .
The anti-viral activity of avarone ,a structurally similar compound also from the marine
sponge Disidea avara, and its derivatives has also been reported. Several new derivatives of avarol
showing antiviral activities have also been extracted from the Red Sea sponge Dysidea cinerea . The
frst enantioselective total synthesis of avarol was reported by Ling et al. In another attempt, the
primmorph model (in vitro culture of sponge cells) was used as a model system to produce avarol
in the laboratory.The cell culture and gene cluster approaches used for sustainable production of
avarol have also been reviewed .
CYCLIC DEPSIPEPTIDES
Papuamide A, B, C, And D
The anti-HIV and cytotoxic cyclic depsipeptides, papuamides, were isolated from the
sponges Theonella mirabilis and Theonella swinhoei that were collected along the north coast of
Papua New Guinea.Two groups from the National Cancer Institute and the University of British
Columbia
Microspinosamide
Isolation of microspinosamide, a cyclic depsipeptide, from an Indonesian collection of the
sponge Sidonops microspinosa was reported in 2001.Microspinosamide contained 13 amino acid
residues including alanine, tryptophan, arginine, threonine, aspartate, valine, two prolines, tert-
leucine, -methylisoleucine, N-methylglutamine, cysteic acid and a new residue, -hydroxy-p-
bromo-phenylalanine. The Anti-HIV activity of crude extract of S. microspinosa was frst discovered
during the National Cancer Institutes primary anti-HIV screening. Both aqueous and organic
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extracts of S. microspinosa exhibited anti-HIV activity. Microspinosamide was also evaluated for
anti-HIV activity in a cell based in vitro assay and found to be efective at a concentration of 0.2
g/mL in CEM-SS arget cells. Other cyclic depsipeptides from sponges with anti-HIV activity
have also been reported.
2.4. ALKALOIDS
2.4.1. 4-Methylaaptamine
Isolation of the alkaloid 4-methylaaptamine (Figure 6) from the marine sponge Aaptos sp.
(collected in Abrolhos, Bahia, Brazil) and the preliminary activity of its crude extract to inhibit 76%
of HSV-1 replication in Vero cells at a concentration of 2.4 g/mL was frst reported by Coutinho
et al. Another study confrmed the anti-HSV-1 activity of 4-methylaaptamine with an EC50 of 2.4
M ,which is even more potent than acyclovir, which has an EC50 of 8.6 M. 4-Methylaaptamine
was found to inhibit HSV-1-infection in Vero cells even 4 h after infection, suggesting the inhibition
of initial events during HSV-1 replication.
2.4.2. Dragmacidin F
Cutignano et al. reported the isolation of a new bromoindole alkaloid, dragmacidin F, from
a marine sponge of the genus Halicortex collected of the southern coast of Ustica Island (Italy) The
compound demonstrated in vitro antiviral activity against HSV-1 and HIV-1 with an EC50 of 96
M and EC50 of 0.9 M respectively and hence is most likely responsible for the antiviral property
exhibited by Halicortex extracts. The compound has an unprecedented carbon skeleton that is
presumed to be derived biosynthetically from dragmacidin D by the cyclization of its partially
oxidized form .
2.4.3. Manzamine A
Manzamine A was isolated from Haliclona sp. Found in waters near Okinawa (Japan) by
Sakai and Higa in their quest to fnd antitumor compounds from marine organisms . The
manzamine class of alkaloids has unique complex polycyclic ring systems coupled with a -
carboline moiety and has been reported to have a diverse range of bioactivities, including
antimicrobial, antiparasitic,antipesticidal , and anti-HIV-1 and activity against AIDS opportunistic
infections. Isolation of manzamine A from the sponge Pachypellina sp .
The same study reported the frst anti HSV-II activity of this compound with a minimal
efective concentration of 0.05 g/mL. Isolation of manzamine A has also been reported from
other species of marine sponges.
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2.5. PHENOLIC MACROLIDES
Hamigeran B
This compound was isolated from the marine sponge Hamigera tarangaensis (family
Anchinoidae) from the Hen and Chicken Islands in New Zealand and showed 100% in vitro virus
inhibition against both the herpes and polio virus with only slight cytotoxicity at a concentration
of 132 g per disk . Syntheses of hamigeran B have been reported by several groups 1.
3.Explain about the antimicrobial compounds derived from marine microorganisms.
ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY
The discovery of the frst antibiotics in the frst half ofthe 20th century left the society and
the scientifc communityunprepared for the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.This
resistance has rapidly spread, and the infections causedby Staphylococcus aureus and other resistant
strains ofpathogenic bacteria are currently a considerable problem.Even vancomycin, which was
the last resource for the treatmentof infections by methillicin-resistant S. aureus
(MRSA), recently has been rendered inefective .Clearly, the emergence and clinical
signifcance of drugresistantbacterial infection has created an urgent need for therapid and
continueddevelopment of new classes of antibioticsthat can keep pace with the changing face of
bacterialantibiotic susceptibility. Thus, the discovery and developmentof new antibiotics has
become a high priority in biomedical research.Marine sponge crude extracts present a
highincidence ofantibacterial activity against terrestrial pathogenic bacteria, but a low incidence of
antibacterial activity againstmarine bacteria . Only a few cases of spongeinfection by exogenous
microorganisms are known, presumablydue to the production and/or accumulation by
thesponges of substances that have antimicrobial activity. Many new molecules with antibiotic
properties arediscovered each year, but in marine sponges their ubiquity isremarkable.
An early screening by Burkholder and Ruetzler revealedthat 18 of 31 sponges tested
showed antimicrobialefects, of which some were very strong against a range ofGram-positive and
Gram-negative bacteria. Recently, ourgroup observed that 10 out of 12 sponge speciesscreened
exhibited antibacterial activity with a large action spectrumover Gram-positive cocci . This
high percentage of active species from Brazil (83%) was similar to that found inother screenings for
antimicrobial-active sponge species, independently of the geographical region, for example, New
Zealand (76.5%) ,France (77%), Brazil (80-95%)and Spain (42%) . Activity against
antibioticresistantbacteria is much less common, in the order of 3-15% of the species tested . Our
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group showed that sevenout of 12 sponges from Rio de Janeiro (58.3%) were activeagainst resistant
bacteria, such as S. aureus (MRSA strain),coagulase-negative staphylococci (multi-resistant
strains)and Enterococcus faecalis (vancomycin-resistant strain), ahigh percentage when compared to
other studies of marinesponges.The studies on screenings of marine spongesfor antibacterial
activity led to the isolation and characterizationof a wide range of active substances, including
somepromising therapeutic leads. Up to 800 antibioticsubstances have been isolated from marine
sponges.
Manoalide, one of the frst sesterterpenoids to be isolated from a marine sponge (Lufariella
variabilis), was found to be an antibiotic . This is the only example of antibiotic seterterpenoid
discovered so far.The importance of marine sponges as a source of novel alkaloids, in particular
those with antibacterial activity, hasbeen recognized and reviewed.
The axinellamines BD froman Australian marine sponge, Axinella sp., have bactericidal
activity against Helicobacter pylori, a Gram-negative bacteriumassociated with peptic ulcer and
gastric cancer.
Another substance active against H. pylori, petrosamine B,an inhibitor of the enzyme
aspartyl semialdehyde dehydrogenase, was isolated from an Oceanapia species (Gulf
ofCarpentaria, Australia)]. In bacteria, this enzyme is involvedin the production of 25% of all
amino acid residues that are required for protein synthesis. Inhibition of enzyme aspartyl
semialdehyde dehydrogenase is thus consideredto be an important target for the development of
antibacterialagents.
Three manzamine-type alkaloids, 12,34-oxamanzamineE, 8-hydroxymanzamine J, and 6-
hydroxymanzamine E, were isolated from an Acanthostrongylophora species from Indonesia. All
three manzamines were active against Myco88.
Marine sponges belonging to the order Haplosclerida are a rich source of alkylpiperidine
and alkylpyridine alkaloids.The sponge Arenosclera brasiliensis, which is endemic in Brazil,
displayed potent antimicrobial activity against diferent strains of pathogenic bacteria.
Fractionation of crude extract yielded four alkylpiperidine alkaloids: haliclonacyclamineE and
arenosclerins A, B,
These psammaplin A analogues were screened directly against various Gram-positive
bacterial strains, leading to the discovery of a series of potent antibacterial agents active against
MRSA strains (MIC <1 g/ml) .Marine-derived macrolides latrunculins A and B, of the Red
Seasponge Negombata magnifca, are the frst marinenatural products that have been found to
reversibly bind to actin monomers and to disrupt its organization. Latrunculins are structurally
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related to many antimicrobial and antiangiogenic macrolides. Natural and semisynthetic
latrunculins showed potent antimicrobial activity against S. aureus and Bacillus cereus .
ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY
New antifungals are needed in clinical medicine because diferent kinds of mycoses,
especially invasive mycoses, have become an important public health problem as their incidence
has increased dramatically in the last decades in relation to AIDS, hematological malignancies,
transplant recipients and other immunosuppressed individuals. Fungal infections remain a major
direct cause of death in patients who are treated for a malignant disease, and emerging resistance
is also an important problem .Immunocompromised patients are mainly infected by Candida,
Aspergillus, Cryptococcus and other opportunistic fungi. Candida albicans is most often associated
with serious invasive fungal infections, but other Candida species andyeast-like organisms
(Trichosporon, Blastoschizomyces and Malassezia) have emerged as etiological agents of severe
mycoses. Fungicides that are currently used are less diverse than antimicrobials, and the use of
many of them is restricted because of toxic efects to humans, animals, and plants . Nevertheless,
progress in that area is slowin comparison with antibacterial agents .Jasplakinolide is the frst
example of a cyclodepsipeptide isolated from a sponge and was isolated from Jaspis sp. Collected
in Fiji and in Palau. Jasplakinolide, also named jaspamide,
is a 19-membered macrocyclic depsipeptide with selectivein vitro antimicrobial activity and
a MIC of 25 g/mlagainst C. albicans. The in vivo topical activity of a 2% solutionof jasplakinolide
against a Candida vaginal infection in mice is similar to that of miconazole nitrate. Two other
peptides, discobahamin A and B, isolated from the Bahamian deep water marine sponge
Discodermia sp., were evaluated as inhibitors of the growth of C. albicans . The depsipeptides
halicylindramides AC and D and E , with antifungal and cytotoxic properties (againstP388), were
obtained from the Japanese marine sponge Halichondriacylindrata. Halicylindramides AC are
tetradecapeptides with an N-terminus blocked by a formyl grou and the C-terminus lactonized
with a threonine residue. HalicylindramideD is a tridecapeptide also with antifungal and cytotoxic
properties, while halicylindramide E is a truncated linear peptide with a C-terminal amide. Three
antifungal cyclic peptides with unprecedented amino acids, microsclerodermins CE, were
isolated from two species of sponges from the Philippines, Theonella sp. and Microscleroderma sp.
Further antifungal cyclic peptides from sponges are the aciculitins AC and the theonegramide .
Other examples are the haligramides A and B, two new cytotoxic hexapeptides from the sponge
Haliclona nigra , and mozamides A and B from a theonellid sponge collected in
Mozambique].Pseudoceratins A and B have been isolated from the marine sponge Pseudoceratina
purpurea. Pseudoceratins are unique among the large class of bromotyrosine-derived sponge
metabolites. Pseudoceratin A and B showed growth inhibitory activity against the erg6 mutant of
Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which has an increased sensitivity to small molecules due to an altered
sterol composition, but they did notshow activity against the wild type of S. cerevisiae.
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Interestingly, pseudoceratins exhibited potent antifungal activity against C. albicans, but did not
show activity against otherfungi such as Penicillium chrysogenum and Mortierella ramanniana.
ANTIPROTOZOAL ACTIVITY
Diseases caused by protozoan parasites lead to high ratesof mortality and morbidity
worldwide. We have focused on the sponge-derived natural products showing promising efcacy
against protozoal infections caused mainly by Leishmania sp., Toxoplasma sp., and Plasmodium sp.
Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by an obligate intracellular parasite of the genus
Leishmania.Leishmaniases are diseases with signifcant clinical and epidemiological diversity that
involve many diferent species of Leishmania parasites, phlebotomine sandfy vectors, and reservoir
hosts in both, zoonotic and anthroponotic cycles of transmission.There is a remarkable increase in
risk factors for leishmaniases worldwide and the disease burden is increasing. The types of disease
range from self-healing ulcers (cutaneous leishmaniasis) to progressive nasopharyngeal infections
(mucocutaneous leishmaniasis) and disseminating visceral leishmaniasis, which is generally fatal
if left untreated. Visceralleishmaniasis represents a serious problem of public health in the Old
and New World. However, some 90% of all cases occur in poor rural and suburban areas of
Bangladesh,India, Nepal, Sudan and Brazil, the latter of which is responsible for most cases
reported in Latin America . The most common drugs for the treatment of leishmaniasis contain
pentavalent antimonials, such as sodium stibogluconateand meglumine antimonite, that have
cardiotoxic efects at the recommended doses. Consequently, there is an urgent need for alternative
treatments. Sponges of the genus Plakortis are well known for their production of cyclic peroxides.
Two peroxides produced by the Palauan sponge Plakortis af. angulospiculatus are active against
Leishmaniamexicana. The most active cyclic peroxide (50% lethal dose,LD50 = 0.29 g/ml) causes
lysis of the cell membrane after 24 h at a concentration of 1.0 g/ml, and a striking decrease in
motility after 30 min. This peroxide is, however, less efective than ketoconazole (LD50 = 0.06
g/ml). Pachymatismin, a glycoprotein isolated from the sponge Pachymatisma johnstoni, has a
high anti-leishmanial activity.The glycoprotein was purifed and shown to be a cytotoxicagent,
which acts on promastigote and clinical-likeamastigote stages with IC50 of about 1 g protein/ml
andinduces changes in cell shape, phospholipase A2 activity andinvasion capacity of the parasite .
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UNIT V
AQUACULTURE TECHNOLOGY
PART-A (2 MARKS)
1.Defne aquaculture.
Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fsh,
crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and
saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fshing,
which is the harvesting of wild fsh.
2.Defne mariculture.
Mariculture refers to aquaculture practised in marine environments.
Mariculture is a specialized branch of aquaculture involving the cultivation of marine
organisms for food and other products in the open ocean, an enclosed section of the ocean, or in
tanks, ponds or raceways which are flled with seawater. An example of the latter is the farming of
marine fsh, including fnfsh and shellfsh e.g.prawns, or oysters and seaweed in saltwater ponds.
Non-food products produced by mariculture include: fsh meal, nutrient agar, jewellery (e.g.
cultured pearls), and cosmetics.
3.Defne algaculture.
Algaculture is a form of aquaculture involving the farming of species of algae.
The majority of algae that are intentionally cultivated fall into the category of microalgae
(also referred to as phytoplankton, microphytes, or planktonic algae). Macroalgae, commonly
known as seaweed, also have many commercial and industrial uses, but due to their size and the
specifc requirements of the environment in which they need to grow, they do not lend themselves
as readily to cultivation.
Commercial and industrial algae cultivation has numerous uses, including production of
food ingredients, food, fertilizer, bioplastics, dyes and colorants, chemical feedstock,
pharmaceuticals, and algal fuel, and can also be used as a means of pollution control.
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4. What is aquaponics?
Aquaponics is a system of agriculture involving the simultaneous cultivation of plants and
aquatic animals such as fsh in a symbiotic environment.
5. What is meant by hydroponic?
Hydroponics (From the Greek words hydro, water and ponos, labor) is a method of growing
plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil. Terrestrial plants may be grown
with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium, such as perlite, gravel,
mineral wool, or coconut husk.
PART-B (16 MARKS)
1. Write in detail about the available marine fshery resources.
Among the countries bordering the Indian Ocean, India has strategic advantages in
exploitation of marine fsh resources with its long coast line of 6100 km and rich and varied fshery
resources within 2.02 million sq. km Exclusive Economic Zone.
The present marine fsh production of 1.85 million tonnes is less than half of the conservative
potential estimate of 4.2 million tonnes . iThe trends in marine fsh landings of past few years
indicate that the coastal fsheries viz. oil sardine, mackerel, Bombay duck and penaeid and non-
penaeid prawns may not contribute signifcantly for further increase in marine fsh production of
our country. Hence, while monitoring the resources for management of these stocks for
conservation as well as exploitation up to the sustainable-yield level, we have look out for new
potential resources in our EEZ. Having assessed the demersal fsheries resources from the coastal
areas within 70 m depth along east and west coasts at 1.71 million tonnes (Joseph, 1980) and about
0.15 million tonnes from 55-360m depth along north-west coast (Anon, 1979 and Bapat et al, 1982),
Fishery Survey of India, since 1980, has been making all eforts to locate new fshing grounds and
resources in our EEZ.
UNDER-EXPLOITED DEMERSAL RESOURCES
The shrimp oriented growth of marine fsheries sector in India has left several parts of EEZ
not supporting commercially viable concentration of crustacean stocks as unexploited. Besides,
86
several species having protracted distribution over the continental shelf are exploited only up to
about 50m depth owing to the limited operational range of large majority of mechanised trawlers.
The survey data collected by Fishery Survey of India vessels from diferent regions of Indian coast
are examined and catch per unit efort of the major species/groups including the exploited stocks
are furnished.
PERCHES
Principally consisting of serranids, lutjanids and Iethrinids, the group perches ofer
immense scope for increased exploitation along both the coasts. George et al (1977) has estimated
potential yield of 2.5 lakh tonnes from Indian waters whereasthe present landing is only about
12% of the estimate. Catch rate of this group obtained from the diferent regions and depth zones
of Indian coast.
LIZARD FISH
Lizard fsh was reported from the entire shelf area of west coast with highest average catch
of 10.75 kg/h from south-west coast, 5.04 kg/h from Wadge Bank and 3.86 kg/h from north-west
coast. Distribution of the species was more concentrated in 100-200 m depth zone with catch rates
rangingfrom 12 to, 25 kg/h. Along south-west coast lizard fsh was found to have extended
distribution even to the continental slope. The survey observation of Fishery Survey of India
vessels indicated availability of lizard fsh as furnished.
CAT FISHES
Catfshes formed 17.4% of catch in upper east coast, 5.6% n lower east coast, 2.8% in
Wadge bank, 9.6% in south-west coast and 3.5% in north-west coast. The current landing is about
0.67 lakh tonnes against the potential yield estimate of 3.1 lakh tonnes. Relative abundance of
catfsh in diferent depth zones of various sections of Indian coast is given in Table 6. Highest catch
rate of 53.21 kg/h was recorded in 50-100 m depth belt of upper east coast followed by 45.68 kg/h
from the inner coastal belt of south-west coast. Though the resource within 50m depth is being
tapped to some extent, the stock in deeper water xtending up,to 150m remains largely
unexploited
POMFRETS
Some potentially rich demersal trawl grounds of pomfrets were located in relatively deeper
water along both the coasts. In north-west coast it formed 4.6% of demersal catch and higher
concentrations (18.83 kg/h) were recorded in 50-100 m depth zone. M. T. Murena identifed
87
productive grounds of the silver pomfret, Pampus argenteus, south of Veravel in 90-125 m depth
range yielding 26.* kg/h in January-February and 25.2kg/hr in September-October. The black
pomfret, Parastomateus niger, was found to occur in high concentrations in 55-90 m of Bombay with
53.4 kg/h during April-May and 14.7 kg/hr in January-February. In Gulf of Mannar pomfrets
contribute 3% of catch, predominantly formed of P. argenteus fshed from the area 9-79. Maximum
yield of 112.9 kg/h was obtained in December followed by 42.9 kg/h in March. Along east coast
1.7 to 2.0% of demersal catch was made up by pomfret, the lat. 15 N and 16 N in 50-100 m depth
zoneyielding 5.3 kg/h. In the northern latitudes 10.2 kg/h was obtained from the coastal belt
within 50 m depth and 4.2 kg/h from 50-100 m range. The present level of production of pomfret
in the country >s about 0.53 lakh tonnes and as per the potential yield estimates of George era/
(i977) there is scope for expanded fshing to increase the production by another 60% of the current
level.
MACKEREL
In contrast to the dwindling catch trend in west coast mackerel landing has been steadily on
the increase in east coast over the past several years. The recent fgures of annual catch from the
east coast has reached upto 0.2 lakh tonnes, a good percentage of which tis reported to be taken by
the mechanised trawlers.
LESSER SARDINES
Productive areas of lesser sardines were identifed in trawl surveys during 1983 and 1984
from the deeper waters along upper east coast. An average yield of 42 kg/h was obtained from the
area 17-82 while the adjacent estern square recorded catch rate of 109 kg/h. The abundance was
predominantly in 50-110 m depth rang* with peak concentration (123 kg/h) in 71-100 m belt.
Though possibilities of higher production of this group from other sections of Indian coast is only
marginal, it appears to have promising potential in the deeper waters of upper east coast.
CEPHALOPODS
The interest of fshing industry for squids and cuttle fsh is on the increase with some of the
foreign markets quoting highly lucrative ofers. The group which formed less than 0.1% of total
marine landing during early seventies now represents over 1% of the catch landed. Being the
principal target group, cephalopods are taken in sizeable quantity by the foreign trawlers
operating in Indian waters under joint venture programmes. Survey reports indicate the
cephalopods forming 4.1% of demersal catch from west coast and 0.6% from east cost.
UNEXPLOITED DEEP SEA DEMERSAL RESOURCES
88
The fsh stocks in peripheral shelf area and continental slope along both west coast and east
coast are totally unexploited. In contrast to the multiplicity of species in coastal regions the
demersal resources in outer shelf ^and slope are comprised of a few non-conventional species viz.
"Big eye", "Black ruf", "Green ey&'Cubiceps sp, Epinnula sp etc. and the deep sea crustaceans.
Oommen (1985) has estimated the standing stock of deep sea fshes in south west coast between lat
7 to 13.as 8136 tonnes and that of deep sea crustaceans as 18146 tonnes.
The "black ruf", Centrolophus niger, ii the major component of deep sea resource in south-
west coast contributing 21.6% of aggregate catch. The distribution of this species was found to be
highly concentrated in areas beyond 200 m between lat 8 and 13 N. Joseph (1986) has reported an
average catch of 158 kg/hr of this species from 200-500 m depth zone along Karnataka coast
which represents 68.9% of catch. Proportion of the species from Kerala coast between lat ' 8-ll N
within the same depth range was also quite signifcant (59.6%). The same depth zone in lower east
coast yielded catch rate of 27.5 kg/hr whereas only trace quantities were obtained from upper east
coast and north west coast. The size range of the species was 7-18 cm with modal class 12-14 cm.
"RIG EYE"
Priacanthus spp. popularly known as "Big eye" or ''Bull eye" is another potential deep water
resource located all along south west coast and east coast in 50-400 m depth with peak
concentration in 100-200 m. The average catch rates obtained from the diferent sections and
bathymetnc zones .
OTHER DEEPSEA FISHES
Few other deep sea species viz. Chlorophthalmusa gassizi ("Green eye"), Cubiceps natalensis,
Epinnula orientalis, Emmelichthys sp , Bathygadus sp ("rat tail") and deep sea sharks totally
accounting for 5.34% of catch was reported from south west coast. The "rat tail" and deep sea
sharks were more available in Karnataka coast whereas occurance of the other three species was
mainly between lat 8 and 10"N. The "green eye" made up 16.05% of catch obtained from 200-500
m depth zone of Kerala coast.
DEEP SEA PRAWNS
Deep sea prawns were found to occur between 150-400 m depth along south-west coast and
east coast. The Integrated Fisheries project during late sixties.; and early seventies had surveyed
the continental edge and slope of south-west coast and Gulf of Mannar. Observations on the
distribution as well as stock estimates of deep sea prawns have been reported by Joseph
Mohammed & Suseelan (1973) and Oommen (1980, 1985). Very high catch rates (113-224 kg/hr)
89
were obtained from Kerala coast during 1968-70 and the highest density was from the Quilon
Bank and the northern grounds extending upto Ponnoni. 43 to 45% of catch from the major
squares 9-75 and 10-75 was formed of this crustacean group. Standing stock from south west coast
between lat7cNtol3cN has been assessed at about 5200 tonnes .
2. Describe in detail about the importance of coastal aquaculture.
The importance of coastal aquaculture in the context of augmenting fsh production, improving
rural economy and productive utilisation of derelict waters was recognised only recently in India.
The need for an urgent development of coastal aquaculture received further stress as certain fsh
stocks in the marine capture fshery indicated optimum level of exploitation, and their catch
returns, despite increased eforts, showed declining trend. Following this, several national
Institutes concerned with research and development of marine and brackish water fsheries,
initiated a series of investigations on the coastal aquaculture of suitable commercial organisms.
RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR COASTAL AQUACULTURE
India possesses the essential basic resources required for immediate development of coastal
aquaculture. The potential coastal water area available in the country includes about 8.9 million ha
of productive inshore waters for open-sea farming, and 1.7 million ha of estuaries, backwaters,
brackishwater lakes and swamps. A variety of suitable fshes, crustaceans molluscs, seaweeds and
other marine organisms, possessing high reproductive capacity, short larval development, fast rate
of growth, and physiological features to adjust to wide changes in the environment are available in
our coastal waters. For immediate establishment of culture fsheries, adequate seed resources of
the cultivible species are also available. As the active fshermen engaged in the coastal fsheries
form only 21 per cent of the total marine fsher population in the country, there are large number
of unemployed and under employed fshermen who could advantageously take up coastal
aquaculture.
RECENT ADVANCES IN COASTAL AQUACULTURE TECHNIQUES
As the entire marine fsh production and the bulk of the brackishwater fsh catch of our
country are realised through the capture fsheries, the main emphasis of research and
developmental activities has so for been in this feld.Except for a few isolated studies and
experimental and pilot-scale projects taken up by the Fisheries Departments of certain maritime
states, there have been no detailed investigations or concerted eforts to develop coastal
aquaculture until recently. However, following the recognition of the potentials in the feld, its
Importance and the high priority assigned to its development, several intensive research
programmes have been taken up during the last seven years. Most of these investigations are
90
centred around the culture of prawns, lobsters? crabs, mussels, pearl oyster and pearls, edible
oysters, clams, fn fshes and seaweeds because of their commercial importance.
Lobster culture
Although isolated experiments on the breeding of the spiny lobsters (Panulirus spp.) and
rearing of phyllosoma larvae were conducted earlier in our country, directed research on lobster
culture, particularlvon Panulirus homarus was taken up only an year back at the Field Laboratory
of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute at Kovalam, near Madras. Techniques of
collection of pueruli that migrate into the coastal waters, by special collectors have been
developed. The young ones of lobsters thus collected are reared in the laboratory. The results of
these experiments have indicated that the young lobsters of 35 mm carapace length grow to a size
of 57-58 mm carapace length in about 15 months and that they reach marketable size in 18 months.
During this period of growth in the laboratory both males and females attained maturity and
mated. Subsequently, the female released the eggs on to their pieopods, where the eggs underwent
further development and hatched out into free swimming phyllosoma larvae (Radhakrishnan,
MS). Encouraged by this result, intensive studies on the controlled breeding and rearing of
phyllosoma larvae are in progress.
Crab culture
Among the edible crabs occurring in our country, ths most suitable species for culture is the
green crab, Scylla serrata. The species grows to a size of 200 mm across carapace and is available in
the estuaries and backwaters all along the coast. It can withstand wide ranges of salinity from
almost fresh water to that of sea water. The culture experiments carried out on the species involve
collection of seed crabs from the wild and growing them either individually in baskets which are
arranged in rows in the feld or in cages, each containing a fewcrabs. They are fed with the easily
available trash fsh. These experiments have indicated that the young crabs grow at a relatively
faster rate of about 12-15 mm carapace length per month.
Seaweed culture
The seaweeds such as the species of Gracllaria, Gelidiella (which yield 'Agar'), Sargassum
and Turbinaria (which produce 'Algin') can easily be cultivated in the near shore waters. The
techniques of seaweed culture are simple. A mat or a frame of coir ropes is fabricated and it is tied
to wooden poles in the coastal waters. Fragments of seaweed G. edulis are planted in the twists of
the coir ropes. Thegrowth of the seaweed is carefully monitored, particularly by preventing their
grazing by the herbivorous fshes and other animals. Recent experiments on the feld culture of G.
edulis and G. acerosa have shown an yield of about 3-5 kg fresh harvest from an initial seed
91
material of 1 kg within 80 days and that about three harvests could be taken in an year. In
Sargassum, a growth of 37-52 cm from an initial plant height of 10 cm has been recorded within
forty days of culture. Studies on the economic viability of largescale culture of seaweed are carried
out from Mandapam Cemp.
Polyculture
Combined culture of compatible species of prawns and fshes is gaining considerable
importance in the context of augmenting yield from the feld and efective utilisation of the
available ecological niches of the pond system. Polyculture techniques involve selection of suitable
species for combined culture on the basis of their feeding and behaviour characteristics,
determination of the proper stocking rate of diferent species, pond management with correct
manuring and fertilisation and monitoring of the growth of the stocked animals. Recent
experiments on polyculture of the mullet, milkfsh and P. monodon, and the milkfsh and P.
indicus at Kakdwip have shown a total production of 1463 kg/ha/7 months and 2196 kg/ha/6
months respectively. But relatively low production has been recorded in similar experiments
conducted from the other centres along the coast. Intensive studies are, therefore essential to
perfect the techniques of polyculture, especially in the dynamic environment of thecoastal waters.
Integrated farming of crop livestock-fsh and prawn
A synergic system of farming of crop-livestock- fsh/prawn in an integrated manner is
another feld which is gaining a great deal of attention in the recent years. In India, there is already
a well-established traditional practice of paddy-cum-fsh/prawn culture in the seasonal felds of
Kerala, Karnataka and Goa. Further, it has recently been established that the prawns and the salt-
water fshes can be cultivated in the canals of the coconut groves. However, coordinated resarch on
this system of farming which requires knowledge of diferent subjects, is necessary to establish it
on scientifc lines and to tackle the problems involved in it.
3. Elaborate on the aquafarm design and its construction.
AquaFarm supports interactive design procedures, utilizing progressive levels of analysis
complexity, simulation based analyses, and iterative design refnement (James, 1984e). These
procedures are used to develop design and management specifcations, until production
objectives are achieved or are determined to be biologically or practically infeasible. This decision
making process is user directedand can be used to design new systems or determine production
capacities for existing systems. The analysis resolution level (Table 1) is set so that the complexity
of design analyses is matched to levels appropriate for the type of aquaculture system and stage of
the design procedure. This is accomplished by user control over the particular variables and
92
processes considered in a given simulation. For example, dissolved oxygen can be ignored or
modeled as a function of one or more sources and sinks, including water fow, passive and active
gas transfer, fsh consumption, and bacterial and phytoplankton processes. Major steps of a typical
design procedure are listed below and fow charted in Fig. 1. A summary of input and output data
considered by AquaFarm is provided in Table 2.
1.Resolution. An analysis resolution level is selected that is compatible with the type of
facility and stage of the design procedure.
2.Specifcation. Facility environment, design, and management specifcations are established,
based on known and tentative information.
3.Simulation. The facility is simulated to generate facility performance summaries and
operation schedules over the course of one or more production seasons.
4.Evaluation. Predicted facility performance and operation are reviewed and evaluated, using
summary reports, tabular and graphical data presentation, management logs, and
enterprise budgets.
5. Iteration. As necessary, facility design, management methods, and:or production objectives
are adjusted so that production objectives and other desired results are achieved (go to step
1 or 2).
In conjunction with progressive analysis resolution, a design procedure can be staged by the
level of scope and detail used in specifying physical components and management strategies of a
given facility. For example, design analyses can start with fsh performance, using simplifed
facilities and a minimum of water quality variables and unit processes. When satisfactory results
are achieved at simpler levels, increased levels of complexity for modeling facility performance
and management strategies are used. By this approach, the feasibility of rearing a given species
and biomass of fsh under expected environmental conditions is determined before the specifc
culture system, resource, and economic requirements necessary to provide this culture
environment are developed. Major stages of a typical design procedure are listed below, but this
progression is completely user controlled.
1.Production trajectory. Fish development, growth, and feeding schedules for broodfsh
maturation, egg incubation, and:or fsh growout are determined based on initial and target
fsh states. Environmental quality concerns are limited to water temperature and day
length, and unit processes are limited to water fow and heat transfer.
2.Production scale. Required water area and volume requirements for fsh rearingunits are
determined, based on initial and target fsh numbers, management methods, and biomass
density criteria. Natural fsh productivity, if considered,is a function of fsh density only.
3.Biomass support. Based on fsh feed and metabolic loading, facility water transport and
treatment systems are constructed to provide fsh rearing units with required water fow
93
rates and water quality. The particular variables and unit processes considered depend on
the type of facility. Natural fsh productivity, if considered, is a function of fsh density and
primary productivity.
4.Management schedules. Fish and facility management methods and schedules are fnalized,
including operation of culture systems, fsh lot handling, and fshnumber, weight, and
feeding schedules.
5.Resource budgets. Resource and enterprise budgets are generated and reviewed.
94
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