Marine Food Web
- Submitted by: hannah0525
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- Category: Science
- Date Submitted: 02/09/2014 06:16 PM
- Pages: 4
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* Biology Final Examination
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* SCI/230
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* Joanne Massi
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* 10/22/2013
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* Wendy Michael
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* Marine Food Web
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* “Ecosystems are areas where the community, or communities, are rather self-sustaining. This involves what we call food chains and webs - that is describing who eats who and following the energy flow (in the form of food) all the way to what we call the bottom of the food chain” (Anderson, 2004).Our oceans cover roughly 70% of the Earth’s surface. “Between 700,000 and one million species live in the world's oceans, according to a thorough new analysis, which also estimated that between one-third and two-thirds of those species have yet to be named and described” (“Discovery”, 2012). And each one of those species has a place and role in the marine food web. "Feeding relationships are often shown as simple food chains – in reality, these relationships are much more complex, and the term ‘food web’ more accurately shows the links between producers, consumers, and decomposers" (“Science Learning Hub”, 2009).
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* Species are categorized by the function they play in a food web. The different levels are also known as trophic levels. Commonly the trophic levels are explained using a pyramid. Using the pyramid visual, the base level begins with the producers. Producers can be identified by their autotrophic nature. Autotrophs produce their own food, through a process called photosynthesis. This is the process where plants convert the sun’s energy into food. In the marine environment, common producers are phytoplankton, algae, seaweeds, and seagrasses. “The importance of the phytoplankton is one of the things that make marine ecosystems unique and different from land ecosystems because...
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* SCI/230
*
* Joanne Massi
*
* 10/22/2013
*
* Wendy Michael
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
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*
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*
*
*
*
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* Marine Food Web
*
* “Ecosystems are areas where the community, or communities, are rather self-sustaining. This involves what we call food chains and webs - that is describing who eats who and following the energy flow (in the form of food) all the way to what we call the bottom of the food chain” (Anderson, 2004).Our oceans cover roughly 70% of the Earth’s surface. “Between 700,000 and one million species live in the world's oceans, according to a thorough new analysis, which also estimated that between one-third and two-thirds of those species have yet to be named and described” (“Discovery”, 2012). And each one of those species has a place and role in the marine food web. "Feeding relationships are often shown as simple food chains – in reality, these relationships are much more complex, and the term ‘food web’ more accurately shows the links between producers, consumers, and decomposers" (“Science Learning Hub”, 2009).
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* Species are categorized by the function they play in a food web. The different levels are also known as trophic levels. Commonly the trophic levels are explained using a pyramid. Using the pyramid visual, the base level begins with the producers. Producers can be identified by their autotrophic nature. Autotrophs produce their own food, through a process called photosynthesis. This is the process where plants convert the sun’s energy into food. In the marine environment, common producers are phytoplankton, algae, seaweeds, and seagrasses. “The importance of the phytoplankton is one of the things that make marine ecosystems unique and different from land ecosystems because...