Phytoplankton Food Chain In The Ocean
Many small fish and whales eat them.
Phytoplankton food chain in the ocean. They are a major food source for the larger animals. The foundation of the sea's food chain is largely invisible. Top ocean predators include large sharks, billfish, dolphins, toothed whales, and large seals.
In fact, phytoplankton is their only main diet. They are eaten by primary consumers like zooplankton, small fish, and crustaceans. They are consumed by zooplankton and other fish as well.
These tiny plants and bacteria capture the sun's energy and, through photosynthesis, convert nutrients and carbon dioxide into organic compounds. Food chains starting with photosynthesis; Phytoplankton form the basis of life in the ocean.
If phytoplankton cannot survive, they cannot support the other organisms that eat the phytoplankton and those organisms also die. Primary consumers are in turn eaten by fish, small sharks, corals, and baleen whales. Like land plants, they take up carbon dioxide, make carbohydrates using light energy, and release oxygen.
Figure below shows a marine food chain. Phytoplankton, described as the 'fuel' on which marine ecosystems run. They are at the base of the food chain.
Food chains interconnect all the organisms of the ocean. Phytoplankton is an important food source for many marine animals and thanks to recent photobioreactor technology now available for humans. With this new technology we can now skip one step in the food chain and we are no longer strictly dependent on fish or fish oil.