Marine Phytoplankton Essay Example for Free

Marine Phytoplankton EssayPhytoplankton From Wikipedia, the lax encyclopedia Jump to navigation, search Diatoms atomic number 18 one of the most common types of phytoplankton. Phytoplankton ar the autotrophic atom of the plankton community. The name comes from the Greek words cpur?v (phyton), meaning plant, and TIXay??q (planktos), meaning wanderer or drifter. l Most phytoplankton ar too small to be individually seen with the unaided eye.However, when present in high enough numbers, they may appear as a green discoloration of the water due to the presence f chlorophyll within their cells (although the actual color may vary with the species of phytoplankton present due to varying levels of chlorophyll or the presence of accessory pigments such as phycobiliproteins, xanthophylls, etc. ). Contents hide * 1 Ecology * 2 Aquaculture * 3 Blooms * 4 See also * 5 References * 6 External links edit Ecology Phytoplankton are the macrocosm of the oceanic food chain.Of these, the best known are dinoflagellate genera such as Noctiluca and Dinophysis, that obtain essential carbon by ingesting some other organisms or detrital material. The term phytoplankton encompasses all photoautotrophic microorganisms in quatic food webs. Phytoplankton serve as the base of the aquatic food web, providing an essential ecological function for all aquatic life. However, unlike erratic communities, where most autotrophs are plants, phytoplankton are a diverse group, incorporating protistan eukaryotes and both eubacterial and archaebacterial prokaryotes.There are nigh 5,000 species of marine phytoplankton. 8 There is uncertainty in how such diversity has evolved in an environment where competition for yet a few resources would suggest limited potential for niche differentiation. 9 In terms of numbers, the most master(prenominal) groups of phytoplankton include the diatoms, cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates, although many other groups of algae are represented. One group, the co ccolithophorids, is responsible (in part) for the release of large amounts of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) into the atmosphere.DMS is converted to sulfate and these sulfate molecules act as cloud condensation nuclei, increasing universal cloud cover. In oligotrophic oceanic regions such as the Sargasso Sea or the South peace-loving Gyre, phytoplankton is dominated by the small sized cells, alled picoplankton, mostly composed of cyanobacteria (Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus) and picoeucaryotes such as Micromonas. edit Aquaculture Diagrams of just about typical phytoplankton.Main article Algaculture Phytoplankton are a key food item in both aquaculture and mariculture. Both utilize phytoplankton for the feeding of the animals being farmed. In mariculture, the phytoplankton is naturally occurring and is introduced into enclosures with the normal circulation of seawater. In aquaculture, phytoplankton must be obtained and introduced directly. The plankton can either be collected from a bod y of water or foodstock for the production of rotifers10, which are in turn used to feed other organisms.Phytoplankton is also used to feed many varieties of aquacultured molluscs, including astragal oysters and giant clams. The production of phytoplankton under artificial conditions is itself a form of aquaculture. Phytoplankton is cultured for a variety of purposes, including foodstock for other aquacultured organisms10, a nutritional supplement for captive invertebrates in aquaria. Culture sizes range from small-scale laboratory cultures of ess than 1 L to several tens of thousands of liters for commercial aquaculture10.Regardless of the size of the culture, certain conditions must be provided for efficient maturement of plankton. The majority of cultured plankton is marine, and seawater of a specific gravity of 1. 010 to 1. 026 may be used as a culture medium. This water must be sterilized, usually by either high temperatures in an autoclave or by exposure to ultraviolet radia tion, to prevent biological contamination of the culture. Various fertilizers are added to the culture medium to facilitate the growth of plankton.A culture must be aerated or agitated in some way to keep plankton suspended, as well as to provide fade away carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. In addition to constant aeration, most cultures are manually mixed or stimulated on a regular basis. Light must be provided for the growth of phytoplankton. The colour temperature of illumination should be approximately 6,500 K, but values from 4,000 K to upwards of 20,000 K have been used successfully. The duration of ethereal exposure should be approximately 16 hours daily this is the most efficient artificial day length10