![]() We would not have sushi without these helpful bacteria. Some of the infochemicals produced by the seaweed’s helpful bacteria help the seaweed grow and develop properly. Marine macroalgae are very rich sources of food for bacteria, and they also provide bacteria with a safe place to hide from predators. Seaweeds can both make infochemicals themselves and benefit from the infochemicals of helpful bacteria that grow on the seaweeds. Seaweeds, also called macroalgae, also use infochemicals to communicate. They make big enough clusters so that they cannot be consumed by the predator. Other plankton can form clusters as soon as they sense the presence of infochemicals released by predators. Like the way humans clean their teeth every morning with a toothbrush, phytoplankton like Nitzschia can produce a burst of defense chemicals every morning, to clean the biofilm around them and thus stay healthy. Did you know that 50% of the oxygen you breathe is produced by phytoplankton drifting around in the oceans? Even drifting algae like phytoplankton have enemies like bacteria and grazers. Phytoplankton are microscopic, unicellular (one-celled) algae that live in the oceans. These organisms respond to the infochemicals by locating and settling on the solid surfaces where the biofilms are growing. Infochemicals released by bacterial biofilms can also attract other types of marine organisms, like tiny algae, larvae of animals like mussels, and barnacles. These marine biofilms can emit infochemicals, telling other bacteria to join and live in the biofilm. When bacteria start to grow on solid surfaces in the ocean, like hulls of ships and oil rigs, they start producing a slimy community called a “biofilm,” where lots of bacteria live and take shelter. BacteriaĮven very simple organisms like bacteria “talk” to each other using infochemicals. Keep reading to see how various marine organisms use infochemicals in their day-to-day lives in the ocean. Infochemicals are used by many different organisms, from microbes, like tiny bacteria, all the way up to gigantic sharks. Which Marine Organisms use Infochemicals and Why? People who study marine chemical ecology are called marine chemical ecologists. ![]() This science of studying marine infochemicals and how they help organisms communicate and manage their day to day life is called marine chemical ecology. Infochemicals can be simple molecules or complex compounds and are present just about everywhere in the marine environment. Infochemicals carry instructions, telling marine organisms whether they should eat, fight with, run from, or make babies with the creature next to them! Marine plants use infochemicals to protect themselves from their enemies or to invite helpful bacteria to live on them, which can benefit the plant. Marine organisms mostly talk to each other using infochemicals, which are known as the “language of life” in the sea. What about marine animals and plants, those that live in the oceans? We know that some marine animals communicate using sounds, like the dolphins producing clicking sounds or the singing of whales, but this is not the only way for marine organisms to talk to each other. So, the next time you see a bee visiting a flower, maybe you will think about the role that infochemicals play for the beautiful flowers around us. When a bee visits a flower, it is not just random! The flower releases infochemicals that the bee can sense, which invite the bee to visit the flower and help the flower to pollinate. These communication chemicals are called infochemicals (information-carrying chemicals). But do you know that the plants and animals around us also have languages that allow them to “talk” to each other? Both land and water plants and animals have a special chemical “language” that they use to communicate. We humans today use about 1,500 different languages to communicate. Infochemicals: The Language of Our Oceans ![]() In this article, I will provide an overview of the diverse use of marine infochemicals, how climate change can disrupt the language of our oceans and what you can do to help save the language of our marine friends. However, this language is under threat from climate change, which is changing the production and characteristics of infochemicals. Infochemicals are the “language” of our oceans. Did you ever wonder how these organisms communicate? What you saw in “Finding Nemo” is clearly not the way it works in the real world! Marine plants and animals, even those that can see and hear like Nemo and Dory mostly “talk” using special signaling compounds collectively called infochemicals. Our oceans host more than 230,000 species of marine life.
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