Primary Producers

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Primary Producers

• Plankton and Plants

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Autotrophs The Producers

• Primary producers are organisms that make their
  own food by photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.
• Phytoplankton are small, drifting, plantlike
  organisms which are responsible for most of the
  oceans primary productivity.
• The most important physical and biological
  factors that influence primary productivity are
  light and inorganic nutrients.

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Autotrophs The Producers

• Most of marine autotrophs are large or small
  algae.
• Algae is a collective term for autotrophs
  possessing chlorophyll and capable of
  photosynthesis, but lacking vessels to conduct
  sap.

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Types of PhytoplanktonSingle-celled Algae
(Kingdom Protista)

• Dinoflagellates
• Most are single-celled autotrophs with two
  whiplike projections called flagella. One
  flagellum drives the organism forward, while the
  other causes it to rotate in the water. Their
  flagella allow them to adjust their orientation
  and vertical position to make the best
  photosynthetic use of available light.
• Some dinoflagellates are bioluminescent.
• These are an old and successful group of
  organisms that have lived in the oceans for more
  than a billion years.

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Dinoflagellates
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Dinoflagellates, continued

• They are also responsible for red tides. Red
  tides occur when water runoff from land, coastal
  upwelling, or warm weather stimulates the growth
  and reproduction of dinoflagellates.

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Types of PhytoplanktonSingle-celled Algae
(Kingdom Protista)

• Diatoms
• The Earths most abundant, successful, and
  efficient single-celled phytoplankton.
• Diatoms possess two interlocking valves made
  primarily of silica. The valves contribute to
  biogenous sediment.

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Types of PhytoplanktonSingle-celled Algae
(Kingdom Protista)

• Coccolithophores
• Very small planktonic alga carrying disks of
  calcium carbonate, which contribute to biogenous
  sediment.
• The famous White Cliffs of Dover in England are
  large deposits of fossilized coccolithophores
  uplifted by geologic forces

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Larger Marine PlantsMulticellular Algae (Kingdom
Protista)

• The Seaweeds
• Algae are protists. There are three main types.

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The Seaweeds

• The Chlorophytes- Green Algae
• These live near the surface of the water. It is
  thought that land plants have evolved from
  chlorophyte ancestors.

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The Seaweeds

• The Phaeophytes- Brown Algae
• These are the largest of all algae and include
  the kelps.

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The Seaweeds

• The Rhodophytes- Red Algae
• Most of the worlds seaweeds are red algae.

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Brown Algae Kelp
Air Bladder
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Parts of the Kelp

• Blade- The structures in kelp that resemble
  leaves.
• Stipe- The stem like structures of kelp.
• Holdfast- The root shaped jumble at the kelps
  base that holds it to a substrate.
• Air Bladder- The gas filled structures that keep
  the kelp buoyant, so that the blades can
  photosynthesize.
• Thallus- The blades, stipes, and holdfast that
  comprise the body of the kelp.