Marine Vertebrates

Marine organisms account for 15% of all life on earth. Approximately 750,000 species of confirmed invertebrates and 22,000 are found in our marine ecosystems. Marine vertebrates, although outnumbered in species and bio mass, have ecological importance and have a diverse range in habitat utilization. This is due to the vast differences in ecomorphological characteristics and the diversity in different taxa that associate with marine ecosystems. This group can be roughly divided into seven different groups: marine birds, marine reptiles, marine mammals, true bony fish, cartilaginous fish, lobed fin fishes, and jawless fish. These different groups range in biodiversity and some are continuously growing in number as interests of what is the biodiversity in our oceans increase.