Question

Why are marine vertebrate species good sentinel species and give an example including species, ecosystem, and environmental problem.

Answer 1

Marine vertebrates are good sentinel organisms which means that they can give symptoms early which indicate changes in the environment in which they live. These changes can be extinction of a particular species which destroys the food web or some changes in climate. One of the main advantage of these organisms is that we can use them for detecting changes in the living environment of human beings. By examining certain marine vertebrates, this can be found out. Marine invertebrates are used for this purpose because they have greater lifespan compared to those of other organisms and they also occupy top position in a food web.

One example is seahorse (Hippocampus reidi) which provides symptoms when water is polluted by oil.