Marine ecology has to do with studying the oceans as a whole system. A marine ecologist is a scientist who studies how living things are interconnected with each other and the oceanographic world (weather, sun, currents, and the ocean floor). A marine ecologist is like an eagle looking down, and seeing the ocean as a whole. He or she knows the importance of the currents, the prevailing winds, the plankton, decomposers and all of the others creatures and plants that make up the ocean environment.

The marine ecologist knows that each part of the whole ocean system has value and a job to do. The prevailing winds cause the currents to flow. Phytoplankton are able to harness the sun’s energy and make food. Zooplankton provide food for many species of life. Tuna eat baitfish and keep the fish populations in balance. Worms are decomposers on the ocean floor, breaking down the dead into nutrients which are used by the phytoplankton. Finally, the great white shark keeps the animal populations in balance. The shark is a predator, and a predator’s job is to create balance in the system, and to keep any one species from becoming too numerous. Even though whales and sharks are magnificent animals, they are no more important than any other creature (worms included). This is the great web of life. The web of life connects all things, like the blood that unites one family.

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