Primary Producers

1
Primary Producers

• Primary producers organisms that synthesize
  energy-rich organic compounds form inorganic
  substances make food!
• Photosynthesis primary process used by primary
  producers
• 6 CO2 6 H2O gt C6H12O6 6 O2
• (in the presence of
  sunlight)
• Chemosynthesis production in the absence of
  sunlight via chemical energy
• Respiration process whereby plants and animals
  disassemble food molecules and harvest energy
• C6H12O6 6 O2 gt 6 O2 6 H2O energy

2
Trophic Levels

• Autotrophs organisms that make their own food,
  also called producers
• Heterotrophs organisms that must consume other
  organisms for energy
• Trophic pyramid model that illustrates who eats
  whom
• Primary productivity the foundation of the food
  web phytoplankton produce 90-96 of oceanic
  carbohydrates

3
(No Transcript)
4
Factors That Limit Productivity

• Factors that can limit primary productivity
• availability of abundant water and carbon dioxide
  
• availability of inorganic nutrients
• duration and intensity of sunlight
• Since water and carbon dioxide are in good supply
  in the
• ocean, the factors that usually limit primary
• productivity are inorganic nutrients and sunlight

5
Plankton
Plankton are drifting autotrophs. Plankton
include many species, some photosynthetic and
some chemosynthetic
.
6
Plankton
What are the major types of phytoplankton? Diatom
s - the dominant and most productive of the
photosynthetic plankton found in all waters of
Earth, 5600 species Dinoflagellates - widely
distributed single-celled phytoplankton use
flagella to move, some species symbiotic with
corals, can produce harmful algae blooms
(HABs) Coccolithophores and silicoflagellates -
small single celled autotrophs
7
The Euphotic Zone
The euphotic zone is the site of photosynthetic
production
8
Plankton and Food Webs

• Zooplankton animal-like plankton most abundant
  primary consumer in the oceans
• Copepods 70 of zooplankton small shrimplike
  animals related to lobsters and shrimp
• Foraminifera abundant zooplankton w/calcareous
  tests, produce limestones
• Krill superabundant shrimp-like crustaceans of
  the southern polar oceans greatest biomass of
  any species, 5x that of humans, whalefood!
• Macroplankton planktonic organisms gt7 cm

9
Larger Marine Producers

• Some oceanic autotrophs are benthic and sessile
  (attached to the ocean floor) these are forms of
  prostists commonly called algae, or seaweed. They
  are classified according to the type of pigments
  they have
• Chlorophytes green due to the presence of
  chlorophyll and the lack of accessory pigments
• Phaeophytes brown seaweed, contain chlorophyll
  and the secondary pigment fucoxanthin, includes
  kelp
• Rhodophytes get their red color from the
  accessory pigments called phycobilius, includes
  most of the worlds seaweed species (7000)

10
Marine Angiosperms
Angiosperms are advanced vascular plants that
reproduce with flowers and seed. Most angiosperms
are found on land but a few species are found in
ocean environments. Sea grasses not true
grasses, many sea grasses found in Florida
coastal waters, seeds are distributed by water.
Mangroves tropical trees adapted to life in
sediment-laden brackish lagoons and estuaries
important stabilizing factor in marginal marine
communities