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The pelagic food web, showing the central involvement of marine microorganisms in how the ocean imports nutrients from and then exports them back to the atmosphere and ocean floor. A marine food web is a food web of marine life. At the base of the ocean food web are single-celled algae and other plant-like organisms known as phytoplankton.
The Arctic Ocean covers an area of 14,056,000 square kilometers, and supports a diverse and important socioeconomic food web of organisms, despite its average water temperature being 32 degrees Fahrenheit. [1] Over the last three decades, the Arctic Ocean has experienced drastic changes due to climate change. [1]
For example, human food webs, agricultural food webs, detrital food webs, marine food webs, aquatic food webs, soil food webs, Arctic (or polar) food webs, terrestrial food webs, and microbial food webs. These characterizations stem from the ecosystem concept, which assumes that the phenomena under investigation (interactions and feedback loops ...
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and ... Reduced sea ice due to melting is causing polar bears to search for new sources of food. ... NOAA North Pole Web Cam Images ...
Sea ice algae play a critical role in primary production and serve as part of the base of the polar food web by converting carbon dioxide and inorganic nutrients to oxygen and organic matter through photosynthesis in the upper ocean of both the Arctic and Antarctic. Within the Arctic, estimates of the contribution of sea ice algae to total ...
A depiction of an Arctic marine food web. The phytoplankton, the base of the food web, are able to grow due to the polynya in the sea ice above them. In general, polynyas tend to be more biologically productive as a result of containing more phytoplankton than the surrounding water. [16]
Climate change causes sea ice to melt, transforming the Arctic from an icy desert into an open ocean. Polar bears and seals may lose their habitats, phytoplankton growth may increase and fuel the Arctic food web, which may lead to higher carbon burial rates and possibly decrease the amount of CO 2 in the atmosphere. [103
The mean trophic level is calculated by assigning each fish or invertebrate species a number based on its trophic level.The trophic level is a measure of the position of an organism in a food web, starting at level 1 with primary producers, such as phytoplankton and seaweed, then moving through the primary consumers at level 2 that eat the primary producers to the secondary consumers at level ...