26
2 Overview of the Aquatic Ecosystem
benefits human health. The humans living in these water-rich community cultivate
the aquatic resources such as fish, rice and aquatic plants in a sustainable manner
that benefits both humans and aquatic life. This harmonious relationship existing in
Satoyama community has recently been reported to be on the decline (Takeuchi et al.
2016). It is therefore important to develop a wider understanding of the importance
of the aquatic environment to human life.
Humans use water as a means to move people and goods across continents, countries, cities and communities over the oceans, seas, lakes and rivers. Such means
include ships, boats and submarines. Permanent structures such as bridges and underwater tunnels are build to allow land-based transportation systems over water. Water
also serves for recreation and major sporting events such as kayaking and water skiing. Deep-sea oil exploration, fishing and mining are some of the major activities
which take place in the aquatic environment. An example of human activity is shown
in Fig. 2.7, an image of men fishing and a motorized boat moving across the Lagos
Lagoon.
Beyond transportation on the surface of water, humans have explored the deepest
depth of the ocean and beyond. The location referred to as the Challenger Deep in
the Mariana Trench, a depth of 10,994 km below sea level (Kobayashi et al. 2012)
has been confirmed as the deepest part of the ocean. Although the conditions are
so extreme that no human has physically been at that depth, recently submersibles
equipped with high-resolution cameras have discovered life-forms that have adapted
to live in what was previously considered to be a barren depth in the ocean. This
discovery has been of benefit to humans in ways such as discovering sources of new
enzymes these organisms use to digest food and produce light in the dark depths of the
sea (Kobayashi et al. 2012; Altun et al. 2008). Such discoveries lead to development
Fig. 2.7 Fishing activity on the Lagoon in Lagos, Nigeria. August 2019. Photograph by Ololade
Olatunji
2 Overview of the Aquatic Ecosystem
benefits human health. The humans living in these water-rich community cultivate
the aquatic resources such as fish, rice and aquatic plants in a sustainable manner
that benefits both humans and aquatic life. This harmonious relationship existing in
Satoyama community has recently been reported to be on the decline (Takeuchi et al.
2016). It is therefore important to develop a wider understanding of the importance
of the aquatic environment to human life.
Humans use water as a means to move people and goods across continents, countries, cities and communities over the oceans, seas, lakes and rivers. Such means
include ships, boats and submarines. Permanent structures such as bridges and underwater tunnels are build to allow land-based transportation systems over water. Water
also serves for recreation and major sporting events such as kayaking and water skiing. Deep-sea oil exploration, fishing and mining are some of the major activities
which take place in the aquatic environment. An example of human activity is shown
in Fig. 2.7, an image of men fishing and a motorized boat moving across the Lagos
Lagoon.
Beyond transportation on the surface of water, humans have explored the deepest
depth of the ocean and beyond. The location referred to as the Challenger Deep in
the Mariana Trench, a depth of 10,994 km below sea level (Kobayashi et al. 2012)
has been confirmed as the deepest part of the ocean. Although the conditions are
so extreme that no human has physically been at that depth, recently submersibles
equipped with high-resolution cameras have discovered life-forms that have adapted
to live in what was previously considered to be a barren depth in the ocean. This
discovery has been of benefit to humans in ways such as discovering sources of new
enzymes these organisms use to digest food and produce light in the dark depths of the
sea (Kobayashi et al. 2012; Altun et al. 2008). Such discoveries lead to development
Fig. 2.7 Fishing activity on the Lagoon in Lagos, Nigeria. August 2019. Photograph by Ololade
Olatunji