What makes up the biomass of the world's oceans. Biomass of the world's oceans and its composition, chemical functions of living matter. Total biomass and production of ocean populations

“Relationships in Nature” - For example, squirrels and moose do not have significant effects on each other. Intraspecific. Squirrel monkeys. Examples of interspecific competition. Amensalism. Over the last billion years, the oxygen content in the atmosphere has increased from 1% to 21%. There are no non-interacting populations or species in nature. Types of competition: Evolution and ecology. Competition. Spider monkeys. For example, the relationship between spruce and plants of the lower tier.

“Ecological relations” - Predominance of external energy supply. Characteristics of a living organism. Genotype. Unitary organisms. Variation in quality of organisms. Classification of organisms in relation to water. Life forms according to Raunkjær. Main characteristics external environment. Moisture. Phenotype. Water anomalies. Light. Modular organisms. Molecular genetic level. Life forms of plants. Mutation process. Organism.

“Cycle of matter and energy” - Most of the energy contained in the food is released. The main producer is phytoplankton. Growth per unit of time. Producers (first level) have a 50% increase in biomass. Chain of decomposition. The biomass of each subsequent level increases. Ecosystem productivity. Energy flow and circulation of substances in ecosystems. R. Lindeman's 10% rule (law). Chemical elements move along food chains.

Phytoplankton, by binding CO 2 during photosynthesis and forming organic matter, gives rise to all food chains in the ocean. Analysis of a variety of data on the amount of phytoplankton in different areas of the World Ocean (with late XIX centuries calculated from available transparency estimates, and since the early 1980s obtained remotely from spacecraft) shows that its biomass has decreased over the last century at a rate of about 1% per year. The most noticeable decrease was noted for the central oligotrophic regions of the ocean. Although these areas are characterized by very low productivity, they occupy a huge area, and therefore their total contribution to the production and biomass of ocean phytoplankton is very significant. The most likely reason for the decrease in biomass is an increase in the temperature of the surface layer of the ocean, leading to a decrease in the depth of mixing and a reduction in the supply of mineral nutrition elements from the underlying layers.

About half of our planet's total primary production (that is, organic matter produced by green plants and other photosynthetic organisms) comes from the ocean. The main producers of the ocean are microscopic algae and cyanobacteria suspended in the upper layers of the water column (what is collectively called phytoplankton). Large-scale quantitative studies of the production and biomass of phytoplankton in the World Ocean began in the 1960s and 70s. Researchers (including those from the Institute of Oceanology of the USSR Academy of Sciences) then relied on a method based on the absorption of the radioactive carbon isotope 14 C by phytoplankton. The isotope was labeled with carbon dioxide CO 2 added to water samples with phytoplankton lifted aboard the ship. As a result of these works, maps of the distribution of phytoplankton throughout the World Ocean were constructed (see, for example: Koblentz-Mishke et al., 1970). In the central, large areas of the ocean, the biomass of phytoplankton and its production are very low. High values biomass and products are confined to coastal and upwelling areas (see: Upwelling), where deep waters rich in mineral nutrition elements rise to the surface. First of all, these are phosphorus and nitrogen, the lack of which limits the growth of phytoplankton in most of the oceanic waters.

A new stage in the quantitative study of the distribution of phytoplankton in the World Ocean began at the very end of the 1970s, after the advent of remote (satellite) sensing methods surface waters and determination of chlorophyll content in them. Although no more than 10% of photons of light, which is reflected from water and carries information about its color, reaches the devices located at the upper boundary of the atmosphere, this is enough to calculate the amount of chlorophyll, and, accordingly, the biomass of phytoplankton (Fig. 1). Biomass values ​​can also be used to judge phytoplankton production, which was verified in the course of special studies comparing satellite data with the results of production estimates obtained experimentally in situ on research vessels. Of course, different devices provide slightly different data, but the overall picture of the spatial distribution of phytoplankton and its dynamics (seasonal and interannual) is very detailed. Suffice it to say that the Sea WiFS (Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor) device scans the entire world's oceans in two days.

A huge amount of data accumulated over the past 30 years has made it possible to identify certain periodic fluctuations in phytoplankton biomass, in particular associated with El Niño, or, more precisely, with the “Southern Oscillation” (El Niño-Southern Oscillation). Analyzing these materials, the researchers suggested the existence of longer-term changes in phytoplankton biomass, but they were difficult to detect due to a lack of data for the period preceding satellite measurements. An attempt to at least partially solve this problem was recently made by specialists from the Canadian Dalhousie University in Halifax (Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia). The biomass of phytoplankton 50 and even 100 years ago can be judged by estimates of transparency, a value regularly measured on research expeditions since the end of the 19th century.

An instrument for measuring water transparency, extremely simple but proving very useful, was invented back in 1865 by Italian astronomer (and at the same time priest) Angelo Secchi, who was commissioned to draw up a transparency map Mediterranean Sea for the papal fleet. The device, called the “Secchi disk” (see Fig. 2), is a white metal disk with a diameter of 20 or 30 cm, which is lowered into the water on a marked rope. The depth at which the observer ceases to see the disk is Secchi transparency. Since the main part of the suspended matter that affects water transparency is phytoplankton, any changes in the transparency value. as a rule, they reflect well changes in the amount of phytoplankton.

Using standardized transparency estimates available since 1899 and recent comparisons of transparency with chlorophyll concentrations, the researchers obtained, first, a picture of the distribution of phytoplankton biomass in the oceans (Fig. 3) and, second, changes in phytoplankton biomass over a hundred-year period (Fig. 4). In total, they had at their disposal the results of more than 455 thousand measurements, covering the period from 1899 to 2008. At the same time, data related directly to the coastal zone (less than 1 km from the coast and at depths less than 25 m) were deliberately not included in the sample, since in such places the influence of runoff from the shore is very noticeable. Most measurements were made after 1930 in the northern regions of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The main conclusion that the authors come to is a gradual decrease in the total biomass of phytoplankton over the last century from average speed about 1% per year.

To assess local trends, the entire water area of ​​the World Ocean was divided into a grid with cells measuring 10° × 10°, and all values ​​were calculated as averages per cell. A decrease in phytoplankton biomass was observed in 59% of cells for which sufficiently reliable data were available. Most of these cells are in high latitudes (more than 60° latitude). However, for some areas of the ocean, an increase in biomass was noted - in particular, in the eastern part Pacific Ocean, as well as in the northern and southern regions Indian Ocean. The central oligotrophic regions of the oceans actually expanded the occupied water areas, and in these areas, despite low productivity, about 75% of all primary production of the World Ocean is now formed.

To imagine changes at the level of large regions, the entire ocean area was divided into 10 regions (Fig. 5): the Arctic, the North, Equatorial and South Atlantic, the northern and southern parts of the Indian Ocean, the North, Equatorial and South Pacific, as well as South ocean. Analysis of averaged data for these large regions showed that a significant increase was noted only for the southern part of the Indian Ocean and a statistically unreliable increase for the northern part of the Indian Ocean. For all other regions it is marked significant reduction phytoplankton biomass.

Discussing possible reasons observed changes, the authors pay attention primarily to the increase in temperature of the surface layer of the water column. It covered almost the entire ocean and led to a decrease in the thickness of the mixed layer. Accordingly, the influx of mineral nutrition elements (primarily phosphates and nitrates) from the underlying layers is reduced. However, the authors admit that such an explanation is not suitable for high latitudes. There, warming of the upper layer should increase, rather than decrease, phytoplankton production and biomass. Clearly, the mechanisms that determine large-scale changes in phytoplankton biomass require further study.

The world's oceans occupy more than 2/3 of the planet's surface. Physical properties And chemical composition Ocean waters provide a favorable environment for life. Just like on land, in the ocean the density of life is equatorial zone is highest and decreases with distance from it.

Compound

IN top layer, at a depth of up to 100 m, unicellular algae that make up plankton live. The total primary productivity of phytoplankton in the World Ocean is 50 billion tons per year (about 1/3 of the total primary productivity of the biosphere).

Almost all food chains in the ocean begin with phytoplankton, which feed on zooplankton animals (such as crustaceans). Crustaceans serve as food for many types of fish and baleen whales. Birds eat fish. Large algae grow mainly in the coastal areas of oceans and seas. The highest concentration of life is in coral reefs.

The ocean is much poorer in life, than land: the biomass of the world's oceans is 1000 times less. Most of the resulting biomass is unicellular algae and other ocean inhabitants - die off , fall to the bottom and their organic matter is destroyed decomposers . Only about 0.01% of the primary productivity of the world's oceans reaches through long chain trophic levels to humans in the form of food and chemical energy.

At the bottom of the ocean, as a result of the vital activity of organisms, are formed sedimentary rocks: chalk, limestone, diatomite and others.

Chemical functions of living matter

Vernadsky noted that on earth's surface there is no chemical force more constantly active, and therefore more powerful in its final effects, than living organisms taken as a whole. Living matter performs the following chemical functions: gas, concentration, redox and biochemical.

Redox

This function is expressed in the oxidation of substances during the life of organisms. Salts and oxides are formed in the soil and hydrosphere. The formation of limestone, iron, manganese and copper ores etc.

Gas function

It is carried out by green plants in the process of photosynthesis, which replenish the atmosphere with oxygen, as well as by all plants and animals that emit carbon dioxide during the breathing process. The nitrogen cycle is associated with the activity of bacteria.

Concentration

Associated with accumulation in living matter chemical elements(carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, calcium, potassium, silicon, phosphorus, magnesium, sulfur, chlorine, sodium, aluminum, iron).

Certain species are specific concentrators of certain elements: a number of seaweeds - iodine, buttercups - lithium, duckweed - radium, diatoms and cereals - silicon, mollusks and crustaceans - copper, vertebrates - iron, bacteria - manganese.

Biochemical function

This function is carried out in the process of metabolism in living organisms (nutrition, respiration, excretion), as well as destruction, destruction of dead organisms and their metabolic products. These processes lead to the circulation of substances in nature and the biogenic migration of atoms.

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Total biomass and production of ocean populations

It is known that highly productive areas in the World Ocean occupy only 20% of its water area, since here, unlike land, there are much more limiting factors and, accordingly, a larger water area of ​​low-productive zones. Thus, phytobenthos occupies only 1% of the total area of ​​the ocean floor, zoobenthos - 6-8%, and the area of ​​the main fishing areas occupies only about 2% of the entire water area of ​​the World Ocean.

It is very characteristic that there are significant differences in the course of the bioproduction process in the ocean and on land. The fact is that on land the biomass of plants is more than 1000 times greater than the biomass of animals, and in the ocean, on the contrary, zoomass is 19 times greater than phytomass. The fact is that sea ​​water, being an excellent solvent, creates favorable conditions for the reproduction of phytoplankton, which produces several hundred generations per year.

Total biomass The population of the pelagic zone of the World Ocean (without microflora - bacteria and protozoa) is estimated at 35-38 billion tons, of which 30-35% are producers (algae) and 65-70% are consumers of various levels. The total annual biological production in the World Ocean is estimated at more than 1300 billion tons, including more than 1200 billion tons from algae and 70-80 billion tons from animals.

One of the most important indicators of the intensity of the biological production process is the ratio of annual production to average annual biomass (the so-called P/B ratio). This coefficient is highest for phytoplankton (from 100 to 200), for zooplankton it averages 10-15, for nekton - 0.7, for benthos - 0.5. In general, it decreases from the lower links of the trophic chain to the higher ones.

In table Table 1 shows average estimates of biomass, annual production and P/B coefficient values ​​for the main population groups of the World Ocean.

Table 1. Some characteristics of the main population groups of the World Ocean

Population group / Biomass, billion tons / Products, billion tons / P/B-coefficient
1. Producers (total) / 11.5-13.8 / 1240-1250 / 90-110
Including: phytoplankton / 10-12 / more than 1200 / 100-200
phytobenthos / 1.5-1.8 / 0.7-0.9 /0.5
microflora (bacteria and protozoa) - / 40-50 / -
Consumers (total) / 21-24 / 70-80 / 3-5
Zooplankton / 5-6 /60-70 /10-15
Zoobenthos / 10-12 / 5-6 / 0.5
Nekton / 6 / 4 / 0.7
Including: krill / 2.2 / 0.9 / 0.4
squid / 0.28 / 0.8-0.9 / 2.5-3.0
mesopelagic fish / 1.0 / 1.2 / 1.2
other fish / 1.5 / 0.6 / 0.4
Total / 32-38 / 1310-1330 / 34-42

The totality of all living organisms forms the biomass (or, in the words of V.I. Vernadsky, living matter) of the planet.

By mass, this is about 0.001% of the mass of the earth's crust. However, despite the insignificant total biomass, the role of living organisms in the processes occurring on the planet is enormous. It is the activity of living organisms that determines the chemical composition of the atmosphere, the concentration of salts in the hydrosphere, the formation of some rocks and the destruction of others, the formation of soil in the lithosphere, etc.

Land biomass. The highest density of life is in tropical forests. There are more plant species here (more than 5 thousand). To the north and south of the equator, life becomes poorer, its density and the number of plant and animal species decrease: in the subtropics there are about 3 thousand plant species, in the steppes about 2 thousand, followed by broad-leaved and coniferous forests and finally, the tundra, in which about 500 species of lichens and mosses grow. Depending on the intensity of life development in different geographical latitudes, biological productivity changes. It is estimated that the total primary productivity of land (biomass formed by autotrophic organisms per unit time per unit area) is about 150 billion tons, including 8 billion tons of organic matter per year from the world's forests. The total plant mass per 1 hectare in the tundra is 28.25 tons, in tropical forest- 524 tons. In the temperate zone, 1 hectare of forest per year produces about 6 tons of wood and 4 tons of leaves, which is 193.2 * 109 J (~ 46 * 109 cal). Secondary productivity (biomass produced by heterotrophic organisms per unit time per unit area) in the biomass of insects, birds and others in this forest ranges from 0.8 to 3% of plant biomass, that is, about 2 * 109 J (5 * 108 cal).< /p>

The primary annual productivity of different agrocenoses varies significantly. The average world productivity in tons of dry matter per 1 hectare is: wheat - 3.44, potatoes - 3.85, rice - 4.97, sugar beets - 7.65. The harvest that a person collects is only 0.5% of the total biological productivity of the field. A significant part of the primary production is destroyed by saprophytes - soil inhabitants.

One of important components Biogeocenoses of the land surface are soils. The starting material for soil formation is the surface layers of rocks. From them, under the influence of microorganisms, plants and animals, a soil layer is formed. Organisms concentrate biogenic elements in themselves: after the death of plants and animals and the decomposition of their remains, these elements pass into the composition of the soil, due to which

it accumulates biogenic elements, and also accumulates incompletely decomposed organic pechs. The soil contains a huge number of microorganisms. Thus, in one gram of chernozem their number reaches 25 * 108. Thus, the soil is of biogenic origin, consisting of inorganic, organic substances and living organisms (edaphon is the totality of all living beings of the soil). Outside the biosphere, the emergence and existence of soil is impossible. Soil is a living environment for many organisms (unicellular animals, annelids and roundworms, arthropods and many others). The soil is penetrated by plant roots, from which plants absorb nutrients and water. The productivity of agricultural crops is associated with the vital activity of living organisms in the soil. Adding chemicals to the soil often has a detrimental effect on life in it. Therefore, it is necessary to rationally use soils and protect them.

Each area has its own soils, which differ from others in composition and properties. The formation of individual soil types is associated with different soil-forming rocks, climate and plant characteristics. V.V. Dokuchaev identified 10 main types of soils, now there are more than 100 of them. The following soil zones are distinguished on the territory of Ukraine: Polesie, Forest-steppe, Steppe, Dry steppe, as well as the Carpathian and Crimean mountain regions with the types of soil structure inherent in each of them cover. Polesie is characterized by soddy-zolic soils, gray forest ones. Temnosiri forest soils, podzolized chernozems, etc. The Forest-steppe zone has gray and dark siri forest soils. The Steppe zone is mainly represented by chernozems. Brown forest soils predominate in the Ukrainian Carpathians. In Crimea there are different soils (chernozem, chestnut, etc.), but they are usually gravelly and rocky.

Biomass of the World Ocean. The world's oceans occupy more than 2/3 of the planet's surface area. The physical properties and chemical composition of ocean waters are favorable for the development and existence of life. As on land, in the ocean the density of life is greatest in the equatorial zone and decreases as you move further away from it. In the upper layer, at a depth of up to 100 m, live unicellular algae, which make up plankton, “the total primary productivity of phytoplankton in the World Ocean is 50 billion tons per year (about 1/3 of the total primary production of the biosphere). Almost all food chains in the ocean begin with phytoplankton, which feed on zooplankton animals (such as crustaceans). Crustaceans are food for many species of fish and baleen whales. Birds eat fish. Large algae grow mainly in the coastal areas of oceans and seas. The greatest concentration of life is in coral reefs. The ocean is poorer in life than land; the biomass of its products is 1000 times less. Most of the formed biomass - single-celled algae and other inhabitants of the ocean - die, settle to the bottom and their organic matter is destroyed by decomposers. Only about 0.01% of the primary productivity of the World Ocean reaches humans through a long chain of trophic levels in the form of food and chemical energy.

At the bottom of the ocean, as a result of the vital activity of organisms, sedimentary rocks are formed: chalk, limestone, diatomite, etc.

The biomass of animals in the World Ocean is approximately 20 times greater than the biomass of plants, and it is especially large in the coastal zone.

The ocean is the cradle of life on Earth. The basis of life is in the ocean itself, the primary link in the complex the food chain is phytoplankton, single-celled green marine plants. These microscopic plants are eaten by herbivorous zooplankton and many species of small fish, which in turn serve as food for a range of nektonic, actively swimming predators. Organisms of the seabed - benthos (phytobenthos and zoobenthos) also take part in the ocean food chain. The total mass of living matter in the ocean is 29.9∙109 tons, with the biomass of zooplankton and zoobenthos accounting for 90% of the total mass of living matter in the ocean, the biomass of phytoplankton - about 3%, and the biomass of nekton (mainly fish) - 4% (Suetova, 1973; Dobrodeev, Suetova, 1976). In general, ocean biomass by weight is 200 times less, and per unit surface area is 1000 times less than land biomass. However, the annual production of living matter in the ocean is 4.3∙1011 tons. In units of live weight, it is close to the production of terrestrial plant mass- 4.5∙1011 tons. Since marine organisms contain much more water, then in dry weight units this ratio looks like 1:2.25. The ratio of production of pure organic matter in the ocean is even lower (as 1:3.4) compared to that on land, since phytoplankton contains a higher percentage of ash elements than woody vegetation (Dobrodeev, Suetova, 1976). The fairly high productivity of living matter in the ocean is explained by the fact that the simplest organisms of phytoplankton have short term life, they are updated daily, and total weight of ocean living matter on average approximately every 25 days. On land, biomass renewal occurs on average every 15 years. Living matter in the ocean is distributed very unevenly. Maximum concentrations of living matter in open ocean- 2 kg/m2 - located in the temperate zones of the northern Atlantic and northwestern Pacific oceans. On land, forest-steppe and steppe zones have the same biomass. Average values ​​of biomass in the ocean (from 1.1 to 1.8 kg/m2) are found in areas of the temperate and equatorial zones; on land they correspond to the biomass of dry steppes of the temperate zone, semi-deserts of the subtropical zone, alpine and subalpine forests (Dobrodeev, Suetova, 1976) . In the ocean, the distribution of living matter depends on the vertical mixing of waters, causing nutrients to rise to the surface from the deep layers, where the process of photosynthesis occurs. Such zones of rising deep water are called upwelling zones; they are the most productive in the ocean. Zones of weak vertical mixing of waters are characterized by low levels of phytoplankton production - the first link in the biological productivity of the ocean, and poverty of life. Another characteristic feature of the distribution of life in the ocean is its concentration in the shallow zone. In areas of the ocean where the depth does not exceed 200 m, 59% of the biomass of bottom fauna is concentrated; depths between 200 and 3000 m account for 31.1% and areas with depths greater than 3000 m account for less than 10%. Of the climatic latitudinal zones in the World Ocean, the richest are the subantarctic and northern temperate zone: their biomass is 10 times greater than in the equatorial belt. On land, on the contrary, the highest values ​​of living matter occur in the equatorial and subequatorial belts.

The basis of the biological cycle that ensures the existence of life is solar energy and the chlorophyll of green plants that captures it. Every living organism participates in the cycle of substances and energy, absorbing some substances from the external environment and releasing others. Biogeocenoses, consisting of a large number of species and bone components of the environment, carry out cycles through which atoms of various chemical elements move. Atoms constantly migrate through many living organisms and skeletal environments. Without the migration of atoms, life on Earth could not exist: plants without animals and bacteria would soon exhaust their reserves of carbon dioxide and minerals, and animal bases of plants would be deprived of a source of energy and oxygen.

Land surface biomass corresponds to the biomass of the land-air environment. It increases from the poles to the equator. At the same time, the number of plant species is increasing.

Arctic tundra – 150 plant species.

Tundra (shrubs and herbaceous) - up to 500 plant species.

Forest zone (coniferous forests + steppes (zone)) – 2000 species.

Subtropics (citrus fruits, palm trees) – 3000 species.

Deciduous forests (tropical rainforests) – 8,000 species. Plants grow in several tiers.

Animal biomass. The tropical forest has the largest biomass on the planet. Such saturation of life causes strict natural selection and the struggle for existence and => Adaptation of various species to the conditions of a common existence.