Exploring Our Fluid Earth

The earth is covered with millions of species of living organisms, ranging from tiny microbes to gigantic whales.

Aquatic plants and algae produce their own food from sunlight and supply much of the planet’s oxygen.

Most animals are invertebrates. These animals without backbones offer a wide diversity of shapes and lifestyles.

Fish are some of the most recognizable aquatic organisms in both freshwater and marine habitats.

Amphibians, reptiles, and birds represent three major groups of vertebrate animals.

Mammals have adapted to a wide variety of conditions and are perhaps the animal group most familiar to humans.

You have reached the end of a section in Exploring Our Fluid Earth. Marine Microbes is currently under development.