Through the Looking-class: Features and Wonders of the Aquatic World

Abstract

This contribution aims to provide readers with a basic introduction to the specific characteristics of the marine world, particularly the important features that distinguish it from the terrestrial world. The goal is to provide an illustrative and educational “dive” rather than an analytical one, aiming to popularize key concepts in oceanography and marine biology in order to enrich the perspective of participants from backgrounds unrelated to marine studies. Topics covered will include: aquatic sensory perception (optics/light diffraction, sound diffusion, tactile density of the environment, etc.); the dynamics of matter underwater (sedimentation, accretion, erosion, orogenesis, etc.); groups of organisms specific to the aquatic or marine environment (sponges, echinoderms, tunicates, foraminifera, etc.); the specific characteristics of marine food webs (particularly photosynthetic animals, sessile animals, and mobile plants); some points of evolutionary history (the age of the marine environment compared to the terrestrial environment, terrestrial species that have returned to marine life, etc.); and finally, an illustrated overview of the main types of underwater landscapes and their specific characteristics. Along the way, we will take the opportunity to discuss certain clichés and common misconceptions in popular representations of the marine world.