Before entering fully into the the term marine biology, it is necessary to know the etymological origin of the two words that give it its shape:
-Biology is a word of Greek origin. It is the result of the sum of the noun “bios”, which is synonymous with “life”, and the word “logia”, which can be translated as “science”.
-Marina, on the other hand, derives from the Latin term “marinus” which means “relative to the sea.” It is made up of the name “mare”, which is equivalent to “sea” and the suffix “-ina”, which is used to indicate membership.
The term biology is the science that is dedicated to studying the composition, development, relationships and functions of living things. Marine, for its part, is that which is linked to the sea (a body of salt water).
These definitions allow us to understand precisely what marine biology is. It is a scientific specialty oriented to the analysis of organisms that live in the sea. Marine biology, therefore, studies the animals and plants of the oceans.
It can be said that marine biology encompasses notions of biology, geography, physics, chemistry and geology to understand the different phenomena that occur in marine ecosystems. If we take into account that more than 70% of the surface of planet Earth is covered by oceans, the relevance of marine biology becomes evident.
Precisely because of the importance of marine biology, many universities around the world allow you to study this career in them. It is established that it seeks to train marine biologists who have the following characteristics:
-That they have all the theoretical knowledge and skills to investigate and work with marine and coastal living beings.
-That they have everything essential to be able to participate in the design of what are production processes.
-That they work in favor of respecting marine diversity and that they ensure its well-being and survival.
In order to achieve these characteristics, it is established that in the course they will study everything about the structure of living beings, the set of coastal and marine organisms, scientific research methodologies, the interactions of the environment with what are marine and coastal species, the management of marine biodiversity…
Due to the immense variety of species that inhabit the sea, marine biologists often work with very diverse animals. The zooplankton, for example, consists of microorganisms floating in the water. The whales, however, are other aquatic animals that can measure 15 meters and weigh 40 tons. Both zooplankton and whales are part of the studies of marine biology.
It is important to note that the pollution of the water wreaks havoc on marine life. That is why marine biology tries to preserve the species that live in the sea through various actions, such as the development of awareness campaigns to warn about certain actions of man that are destroying aquatic ecosystems.
