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The mysterious ecosystem at the ocean’s surface
Life on the ocean’s surface connects worlds. From shallow waters to the deep sea, the open ocean to rivers and lakes, numerous terrestrial and marine species depend on the surface ecosystem and the organisms found therein. Organisms that live freely at the surface, termed “neuston,” include keystone...
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
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Public Library of Science
2021
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Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8081451/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33909611 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001046 |
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author | Helm, Rebecca R. |
author_facet | Helm, Rebecca R. |
author_sort | Helm, Rebecca R. |
collection | PubMed |
description | Life on the ocean’s surface connects worlds. From shallow waters to the deep sea, the open ocean to rivers and lakes, numerous terrestrial and marine species depend on the surface ecosystem and the organisms found therein. Organisms that live freely at the surface, termed “neuston,” include keystone organisms like the golden seaweed Sargassum that makes up the Sargasso Sea, floating barnacles, snails, nudibranchs, and cnidarians. Many ecologically and economically important fish species live as or rely upon neuston. Species at the surface are not distributed uniformly; the ocean’s surface harbors unique neustonic communities and ecoregions found at only certain latitudes and only in specific ocean basins. But the surface is also on the front line of climate change and pollution. Despite the diversity and importance of the ocean’s surface in connecting disparate habitats, and the risks it faces, we know very little about neustonic life. This Essay will introduce you to the neuston, their connections to diverse habitats, the threats they face, and new opportunities for research and discovery at the air-sea interface. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-8081451 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2021 |
publisher | Public Library of Science |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-80814512021-05-06 The mysterious ecosystem at the ocean’s surface Helm, Rebecca R. PLoS Biol Essay Life on the ocean’s surface connects worlds. From shallow waters to the deep sea, the open ocean to rivers and lakes, numerous terrestrial and marine species depend on the surface ecosystem and the organisms found therein. Organisms that live freely at the surface, termed “neuston,” include keystone organisms like the golden seaweed Sargassum that makes up the Sargasso Sea, floating barnacles, snails, nudibranchs, and cnidarians. Many ecologically and economically important fish species live as or rely upon neuston. Species at the surface are not distributed uniformly; the ocean’s surface harbors unique neustonic communities and ecoregions found at only certain latitudes and only in specific ocean basins. But the surface is also on the front line of climate change and pollution. Despite the diversity and importance of the ocean’s surface in connecting disparate habitats, and the risks it faces, we know very little about neustonic life. This Essay will introduce you to the neuston, their connections to diverse habitats, the threats they face, and new opportunities for research and discovery at the air-sea interface. Public Library of Science 2021-04-28 /pmc/articles/PMC8081451/ /pubmed/33909611 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001046 Text en © 2021 Rebecca R. Helm https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
spellingShingle | Essay Helm, Rebecca R. The mysterious ecosystem at the ocean’s surface |
title | The mysterious ecosystem at the ocean’s surface |
title_full | The mysterious ecosystem at the ocean’s surface |
title_fullStr | The mysterious ecosystem at the ocean’s surface |
title_full_unstemmed | The mysterious ecosystem at the ocean’s surface |
title_short | The mysterious ecosystem at the ocean’s surface |
title_sort | mysterious ecosystem at the ocean’s surface |
topic | Essay |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8081451/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33909611 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001046 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT helmrebeccar themysteriousecosystemattheoceanssurface AT helmrebeccar mysteriousecosystemattheoceanssurface |