How Sea Creatures Help the Environment

By Lee Seo-yeon, Incheon Sang-a Elementary School

Our Earth is getting hotter and hotter by the second due to global warming. And because of this disaster, sea creatures are suffering. Nonetheless, would you believe that these very sea creatures are helping the Earth? Surprisingly, sea creatures are playing a very important role in protecting the Earth from global warming. And here are three sea creatures that help the Earth and I will explain how they do it.

The first animal is the whale. Whales help the Earth by absorbing carbon dioxide in the sea into their bodies. They absorb about 33 tons of carbon dioxide in their bodies during their lifetime. That’s the same amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by 1,500 trees! Even when whales die, they sink to the deep ocean floor with carbon dioxide in their bodies. Interestingly, this is good for the environment, and also for the whales if they die in the sea. The whales safely store this gas for hundreds of years, and the dead body of a whale makes a fine environment for other sea creatures to live in.

The next creature is the sea sponge. These animals may not sound so familiar to you. So first, I’ll simply introduce this animal. The sea sponge is a plain sea animal that first appeared about 700 million years ago. And as you can see in the name, it looks like a real sponge. However, it is a spineless animal, which makes it look similar to sponges. This creature helps the Earth, especially for the ocean, by filtering water in the ocean with its sponge-shaped body. Sea sponges are incredibly efficient at filtering water, and some species can filter up to 20,000 times their own body volume of water each day.

The last animal is sea turtle. Sea turtles provide food for many animals throughout their lifetime. Animals such as ants, crabs, and rats dig up unhatched turtle eggs and eat them. Furthermore, their unhatched eggs and empty eggshells on the beaches are fertilizers for beach plants. Also, baby turtles are food for various sea birds and fish, while adult turtles are food to sharks and killer whales. What’s more, sea turtles are the habitat for many ocean creatures. Many sea creatures attach themselves to the turtle and live on the turtle’s body. Finally, sea turtles help the ocean by eating sea creatures like jellyfish to keep the right number of its kind so that it does no harm to the ocean.

In conclusion, we should protect sea creatures. To do so, we also have to protect the environment. Litter carelessly thrown on the streets can destroy the lives and homes of countless sea creatures. Instead of thinking, “It won’t matter if it’s just me,” let’s change our mindset to “I’ll start” and “I can make a difference.” So, how about protecting the Earth by disposing of trash properly, starting today?