Phytoplankton
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Phytoplankton
(image Uwe Kils) |
Phytoplankton refers to the
algal component of the
plankton that drifts in the water column. The name comes from the
Greek terms, , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter", and
phyton or "
plant". Phytoplankton, like other plants, obtain energy through the process of
photosynthesis, and so live in the well-lit surface layer (termed the
euphotic zone) of an ocean, sea, or lake. Their cumulative energy fixation in carbon compounds (
primary production) is the basis for the vast majority of oceanic (see
chemosynthesis) and some freshwater food chains. One of the most remarkable and direct food-chains is that of phytoplankton fed on by
krill fed on by certain
whales.
Phytoplankton produce approximately 98% the atmospheric oxygen.
in the Baltic Sea (July 3, 2001) seen from space]]
