Phytoplankton

water and digest agricultural waste out of the ocean, which makes the ocean cleaner. According to Billie Abbot, jellyfish are carnivorous and feed mostly on zooplankton, comb jellies and other jellyfish. As well as, eating copepods (which eat phytoplankton and then excrete toxins into the water), fish eggs, and larvae jellyfish help regulate biodiversity. Because of the competition it is important that jellyfish dominate this from the lower levels of the food…

In the Baja California coast of Mexico, shrimp ponds were reported to be affected by algal blooms and the responsible algae were the prasinophyte Nephroselmis sp., Cochlodinium polykrikoides, Prorocentrum rhathymum, P. minimum, and Heterocapsa triquetra (dinoflagellates) and Nitzschia sigma (diatom) (Gárate-Lizárraga et al., 1999; 2004; 2006; Sierra-Beltrán et al., 2005; Gárate- Lizárraga and Muñetón-Gómez, 2008). Severe losses in shrimp farming in Mexico caused by toxic dinoflagellates and…

The importance of biodiversity Importance of biodiversity is a fairly new topic that has been gaining considerable attention as the awareness of the significance of natural ecosystems and environments increases. There is thus a new approach to conserve our environment as opposed to merely utilize and diminish it (Silvert 2006, de Vere 2008, Malhotra 2012). This was brought to attention in the 1900s by literature such as “Our Plundered Planet” by Fairfield Osborn. In the 1960s there were many…

Global warming and climate change are a result of the lifestyle and actions humans have taken over the past one hundred years and through the industrialization era. The burning of fossil fuels in an industrial setting and through divining cars increases the CO2 levels in the atmosphere and consequently warms the Earth. Cutting down and burning forests also has a large impact on global warming and climate change. Trees intake carbon dioxide and release oxygen, so when forests are cut down, the…

There are many factors that contribute to the conclusion that the steelhead trout will and will not be able to reestablish themselves in the Arroyo Del Valle presently. Some of the most important factors for the re-establishment of the trout are the relatively stable pH, adequate DO levels, and low pollution. From our graphs, it is evident that the pH of the creek is consistent around 7, which is a pH that the steelhead can establish themselves and live in. Steelhead trout require a DO level…

carbon and oxygen. Inorganic phosphorus is that phosphorus that isn’t. Inorganic phosphorus isn’t terribly useful for large portions of life, so it must be changes to organic phosphorus. As previously mentioned, some phytoplankton and plants can do this. Creatures eat these phytoplankton, those creatures are eaten, and so on. This is how phosphorus moves through the biosphere. Organic phosphorus is used, in a phosphate form, for nucleotides. Nucleotides, alone, are incredibly important, as they…

It has been noted that the increase in CO2 levels in the surface oceans can be fertilizer to some phytoplankton depending on the nutrient availability in the area. In most open areas, the oceans are already seen as mostly iron and phosphorus limited. In a study by John Martin (Martin, Gordon and Fitzwater, 1990) he determined that small amounts of iron…

These are biotic factors, living things, and abiotic factors, nonliving things. Biotic factors in the ocean ecosystem, specifically the Pacific Ocean, consists of phytoplankton, coral, sea anemones, whales, and eels. Abiotic factors in the Pacific include sunlight, temperature, and submarine volcanoes. Sunlight is vital for organisms dwelling underwater because it provides energy for photosynthesis to occur for autotrophs…

Protests about saving the earth is all over the internet if searched, and recycling is most often always reinforced in public school across America as well as the idea of wasting the things we’re ever so blessed to obtain. However, within the big picture of what could result from global warming, ocean acidification, and all other world-polluting occurrences, the measurement and discovery about what has already resulted is not as publicized… at least not in regards to the backbone of all…

conducted by the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (1991) showed that “Saginaw Bay's energy base is no longer dominated by phytoplankton because these microscopic, free-floating plant cells are choice food for zebra mussels, which are able to selectively filter the cells out of the water.” Many of the fish in the great lakes rely on the phytoplankton for food, and by lowering the population, the population of fish in the lakes will also drop, causing reduced revenue for fishing…