is phytoplankton a producer or consumer?
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Importance of phytoplankton Phytoplankton are the foundation of the aquatic food web, the primary producers, feeding everything from microscopic, animal-like zooplankton to multi-ton whales. Small fish and invertebrates also graze on the plant-like organisms, and then those smaller animals are eaten by bigger ones.
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Many producers make their own food through the process of photosynthesis. The "food" the producers make is the sugar, glucose. Producers make food for the rest of the ecosystem.
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Most of this oxygen comes from tiny ocean plants – called phytoplankton – that live near the water's surface and drift with the currents. Like all plants, they photosynthesize – that is, they use sunlight and carbon dioxide to make food. A byproduct of photosynthesis is oxygen.
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The food web Phytoplankton are the foundation of the aquatic food web, the primary producers, feeding everything from microscopic, animal-like zooplankton to multi-ton whales. Small fish and invertebrates also graze on the plant-like organisms, and then those smaller animals are eaten by bigger ones.
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The term “single-celled plants” is a misnomer, and should not be used. Instead, phytoplankton can be divided into two classes, algae and cyanobacteria 10. ... Marine phytoplankton are mainly comprised of microalgae known as dinoflagellates and diatoms, though other algae and cyanobacteria can be present.
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Phytoplankton is the first link in the food chain. These are known as primary producers because they produce the first forms of food. ... These, in turn, become food for larger organisms such as bivalves, crustaceans and fish.
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Producers are organisms that make their own food, whereas consumers are organisms that need to eat to gain energy.
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The ocean produces oxygen through the plants (phytoplankton, kelp, and algal plankton) that live in it. These plants produce oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis, a process which converts carbon dioxide and sunlight into sugars the organism can use for energy.
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Productivity fuels life in the ocean, drives its chemical cycles, and lowers atmospheric carbon dioxide. Nutrient uptake and export interact with circulation to yield distinct ocean regimes.
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There are two main types of plankton: phytoplankton, which are plants, and zooplankton, which are animals.
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Algae are primary producers on the bottom of the food chain that feed consumers.
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Euglena are producers, so they make their own food through photosynthesis. When there is not enough light to make food they become heterotrophs. Some types do not contain chlorophyll so they cannot make food through photosynthesis and are full time consumers or decomposers.
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The organisms that eat the producers are the primary consumers. They tend to be small in size and there are many of them. The primary consumers are herbivores (vegetarians). The organisms that eat the primary consumers are meat eaters (carnivores) and are called the secondary consumers.
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Diatoms are a class of phytoplankton which are known as chief producers in the ocean. The food chain in a marine ecosystem depends on it. Thus, diatoms have left behind a large amount of cell wall deposits in their habitat; this accumulation over billions of years is referred to as 'diatomaceous earth'.
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 Phytoplankton, also known as microalgae, are similar to terrestrial plants in that they contain chlorophyll and require sunlight in order to live and grow. ... The two main classes of phytoplankton are dinoflagellates and diatoms.
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Algae are sometimes considered protists, while other times they are classified as plants or choromists. Phytoplankton are made up of single-celled algae and cyanobacteria. As algae can be single-celled, filamentous (string-like) or plant-like, they are often difficult to classify.
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The Good, the Bad, and the Algae. ... Single-celled algae called phytoplankton are a main source of food for fish and other aquatic life, and account for half of the photosynthetic activity on Earth—that's good. But certain varieties such as some cyanobacteria produce toxins that can harm humans, fish, and other animals.