An Mhórmhuir

An Mhórmhuir

Is í an mhórmhuir an ghnáthóg is mó ar domhan. Cuireann sí ocsaigin, báisteach agus bia ar fáil dúinn.

Whales in the sea

Whales in the sea

Whales in the sea

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Meastar gurb é planctón 90% de na rudaí beo sa mhórmhuir. Tagann an focal ‘planctón’ ó fhocal Gearmáinise a chiallaíonn rudaí a bhíonn ag imeacht le sruth. Tagraíonn sé don chaoi nach mbíonn planctón ag snámh ach ag imeacht le sruthanna na n-aigéan. Créatúir mhicreascópacha iad don chuid is mó. Roinntear iad ina ndá ghrúpa, fíteaplanctón (plandaí agus baictéir) agus zóplanctón (ainmhithe).

Bíonn coiréil fuaruisce le fáil san Aigéan Atlantach amach ó chósta thar na hÉireann. Cothaíonn na coiréil fuaruisce an bithéagsúlacht agus fuarthas 1,300 speicis d’éisc agus inveirteabraigh mórthimpeall. D’fhás na cairn nó na sceireacha coiréal seo leis na mílte bliain agus iad déanta don chuid is mó de cnámharlaigh coiréal crua.

The Open Sea

The open seas are the largest habitat on earth. They give us oxygen, rain and food.

Ross Coral

Taken by Kieran Boyce, Dublin University Sub-Aqua Club

Ross Coral
Taken by Kieran Boyce, Dublin University Sub-Aqua Club

Ross Coral

Taken by Kieran Boyce, Dublin University Sub-Aqua Club

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Plankton is thought to account for 90 per cent of life in the open seas. The word ‘plankton’ comes from a German word meaning ‘drifters’. It refers to the fact that plankton drift rather than swim, getting around with the movement of ocean currents. Most plankton are microscopic. They are divided into two groups, phytoplankton (plants and bacteria) and zooplankton (animals).

In the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Ireland , cold-water corals exist. Cold-water corals support high biodiversity, with over 1,300 species of invertebrates and fish recorded around them. Mounds or reefs of coral formed over thousands of years are largely composed of the skeletons of hard coral.