EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Phytoplankton and algae form the bases of aquatic food webs. They are eaten by primary consumers like zooplankton, small fish, and crustaceans. Primary consumers are in turn eaten by fish, small sharks, corals, and baleen whales.

Detailed explanation-2: -Plankton are at the base of the food chain, meaning they are critical in supporting marine and freshwater food webs. Phytoplankton are also primary produces, meaning they use photosynthesis to convert carbon dioxide to oxygen, and are responsible for up to half of the oxygen we breathe.

Detailed explanation-3: -There are two main types of plankton: phytoplankton, which are plants, and zooplankton, which are animals. Zooplankton and other small marine creatures eat phytoplankton and then become food for fish, crustaceans, and other larger species.

Detailed explanation-4: -Plankton are marine drifters-organisms carried along by tides and currents. Phytoplankton blooms in the Barents Sea, shown in natural color from NASA’s Aqua satellite on July 10, 2014.

Detailed explanation-5: -Most of the plankton in the ocean are plants. Phytoplankton produce their own food by lassoing the energy of the sun in a process called photosynthesis. So for sunlight to reach them, they need to be near the top layer of the ocean. So must zooplankton, which feed on the phytoplankton.