EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Phytoplankton is the base of several aquatic food webs. In a balanced ecosystem, they provide food for a wide range of sea creatures. Phytoplankton, also known as microalgae, are similar to terrestrial plants in that they contain chlorophyll and require sunlight in order to live and grow.

Detailed explanation-2: -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-3: -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. Plankton have evolved many different ways to keep afloat.

Detailed explanation-4: -Plankton-derived from the Greek root planktos, meaning “wanderer” or “drifter”-are unable to swim against currents, tides, or waves. The word refers to the numerous organisms floating throughout aquatic ecosystems. Phytoplankton are the tiny, plant-like producers of the plankton community.

Detailed explanation-5: -The most common phytoplankton are diatoms and dinoflagellates. Diatoms are single-celled algae.