Ecology Essay Dolphins are big and they affect their ecosystem in a big way. They are so smart, not only for putting on shows at Sea World, but also how they communicate with each other in their natural habitat. Dolphins also have an important niche in the underwater world. They are predators of the food chain. A dolphin shares its ecosystem with many other organisms. Dolphins are very important to the ocean, without them the ecosystem would be unbalanced.
Dolphins’ natural habitat is the ocean, from coastal waters to open seas. They live in salt water, but a few species can live in freshwater locations. They like the warmer areas, but if they are in need of food they will go to the colder areas. An area they once called home can change quickly. If it becomes too polluted, there’s no food, or even if the water temperature changes, they will migrate to another part of the ocean. Their niche is that they’re top-level predators which control populations of fishes and squids and keep their ecosystem balanced. Also, dolphins often prey on ill or old …show more content…
There are so many underwater organisms that are around them and that they interact with. Sick, injured or dead dolphins are a big indicator that something is wrong in their environment that also affects the safety and health of other ocean creatures, as well as humans. When they eat, and then get eaten, they keep the ecosystem in balance naturally.
In the food web, first comes plankton, who eat the dead bodies of things. Next is krill, which eat the plankton. After that is small squids, who eat small fish and krill. Then comes large squids, who like to eat small squids and fish. Now comes dolphins, who eat the squids and fish, plus crustaceans and octopus. Next is sharks and killer whales, who eat the dolphins, and last but not least comes the killer whales, who eat the sharks. Obviously there’s more species involved, but that’s the basic