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Importance of Plankton in Ocean ecosystem
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Recommended: Importance of Plankton in Ocean ecosystem
The word plankton originates from the Greek word for “wandering.” Refers to the diverse group of plants and animals that spend some or all of their life cycle drifting in the water of oceans or freshwater lakes. Plankton is abundant and important within the marine environment. Most fo the Earth’s biomass, the mass of living organisms, consist of plankton adrift in the oceans. Ninety-eight percent of marine species are bottom dwelling, but the vast majority of the ocean’s biomass is planktonic. Many of these organisms are capable of locomotion, but are generally unable to move independently of currents and waves. This lack of strong swimming ability separates plankton from nekton, which include organisms that can control their movement in the water. Some planktonic organisms can be quite large, however, plankton are generally smaller than nekton. Plankton can be classified based on their feeding styles.
Phytoplanktons are a very important part of ocean life. The carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is in balance with carbon dioxide in the ocean. During photosynthesis, phyto...
The invertebrate larvae's primary food source comes from the phytoplankton that is found in abundance at the bottom of the sea floor. The larvae fed with detritus were compared with those fed on equal concentrations of phytoplankton. Other tests were conducted to compare the degrees of survivorship among the larvae using varying concentrations of phytoplankton. Higher concentrations of phytoplankton, consumed by the larvae, yielded. higher survivorship in growth and development.
The reduction in photosynthesising biomass led to an increased reliance on the Worlds other carbon sink, Oceans. Between 26-44% of CO2 in the atmosphere is absorbed by oceans by photosynthesising organisms, mainly phytoplankton (Archer, D. and Pierrehumbert, R., 2011), seawater chemically reacts with aqueous Carbon Dioxide, one of the end products is Hydrogen ions (H+) (NOAA, 2013). The increased concentration of H+ results in the ocean becoming more acidic, since pH is determined by concentration of Hydrogen ions.
From a crab to a barnacle, crustaceans are a diverse group of animals that inhabit much of the world. This lesson will explore what it means to be a crustacean and will also provide some example organisms.
According to NOAA phytoplankton are microscopic organisms that continuously convert sunlight and nutrients into living tissue. Phytoplankton can be harmful to the bay because they at an uncontrollable rate causing harmful algae blooms when there is an abundance of nutrients. Phytoplankton also serve as the main food source for a larger but still microscopic organism named Zooplankton. Marine Bio.org did a study on zooplnkton revealing that they are very weak swimmers making them an easy food source for any larger organsim. Zooplanktons’ main purpose serves as the main food source for small fish and
In the coral reef habitat, food consumption is based on sunlight. The sunlight gives food to the plants, bacteria and algae, which is eaten by the plant eaters or herbivores, such as parrotfishes. The bigger carnivores, such as the Whitetip Reef Shark, in the ecosystem then eat those fishes along with the bacteria and plankton in the water. On the other hand, the deep sea is based on dead animal bodies or waste, shown in the fake whale carcass in the deep sea exhibit. Organisms of the deep sea feed on waste because sunlight does not have the ability to reach that deep in the ocean. Nektons are the fishes that feed on the waste produced by the epipelagic zone.
In absence of calcium carbonate, coral and shellfish can’t survive. The ecosystem of ocean depends on these organisms because they offer a large source of food at the bottom of the food chain. They need to be abundant in order t...
Sharks are the apex predators of the ocean, meaning they regulate the marine food web. The ocean (there is only one, not 7) covers between 70 – 75% of the earth’s surface and houses 80 – 90% of all life on earth, yet sharks role in maintaining the ocean is often overlooked. The main reas...
Some studies have found “that atmospheric CO2 concentration is approximately 383 parts per million by volume (ppmv), a level not seen in at least 650,000 years, and it is projected to increase by 0.5% per year throughout the 21st century.” (Guinotte) “This is because…the ocean absorbs about a third of fossil fuel emissions, but this amount is likely to increase to 90% in the future.” (Bralower) As a result, “the chemistry of the world's oceans is changing at a rate not seen for 65 million years, with far-reaching implications for marine biodiversity and food security, according to a new United Nations study...” (Knight) “…This change is cause for serious concern [for] many marine organisms…, [because they] may not be able to adapt quickly enough to survive these changes.” (Guinotte)
and zooplankton, both of which eat algae and are, in turn, eaten by larger fish.
Often in organisms substances must be in solution and water is the solvent. Plants can only obtain mineral salts in solution so require water to live. Also human digestion will only dissolve soluble foods, meaning large starch molecules must be broken down into soluble sugars. Also many organisms living in water spend most of their lives underwater, yet they require oxygen to live and respire, and as water is such a good solvent the required oxygen gas is dissolved in the water and the organisms can use it. Water is the most abundant component in any organism, proving its
28 October 2010. 16 April 2014 http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/06/0607_040607_phytoplankton_2.hyml. “Solutions to Plastic Pollution in our Ocean” Natural Resources Defense Council. 3 March 2014. web.
Crustacea is a large subphylum of Arthropoda, consisting of almost 52 000 described species, including animals like crabs, lobsters, shrimp and barnacles. The majority of these are aquatic, living in marine or fresh water environments, though some have adapted to living on land like some crabs and woodlice. Most crustaceans are relatively small, though there are some exceptions. All of them have a hard, strong exoskeleton, divided into two parts, which has to be shed in order to allow the animal itself to grow. They have a large circulation system, where blood is pumped around the body by the heart. Only some crustaceans have sexes separate, and those that are usually mate seasonally and lay eggs. The study of Crustacea is called carcinology.
These results agree with the hypothesis that our “untouched and super-productive world” is affecting marine life ecosystems (Vannela, 2012). All of these results combined confirm the overall hypothesis that pollution is getting worse in the ocean and more marine life ecosystems are being affected, but there
Seagrass is not just a food source for micro species, but also macro species such as manatees, turtles, dolphins and dugongs (Yamada and Kumagai 2012). These marine organisms are all supported directly and indirectly by seagrasses, with some entirely dependent on it. Seagrass is often underestimated in its significance as the vast role that it plays in the oceans ecosystem is not fully understood. ...
“In the creation of the heavens and earth, and the alternation of the night and day, and the ships which sail the seas to people's benefit, and the water which Allah sends down from the sky - by which He brings the earth to life when it was dead and scatters about in it creatures of every kind - and the varying direction of the winds, and the clouds subservient between heaven and earth, there