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Phytoplankton are then consumed at the next trophic level in the food chain by microscopic animals called zooplankton. Zooplankton constitute the second trophic level in the food chain, and include microscopic one-celled organisms called protozoa as well as small crustaceans, such as copepods and krill, and the larva of fish, squid, lobsters ...
The name "krill" comes from the Norwegian word krill, meaning "small fry of fish", [3] which is also often attributed to species of fish. Krill are considered an important trophic level connection near the bottom of the food chain. They feed on phytoplankton and, to a lesser extent, zooplankton, and are also the main source of food for many ...
The aquatic microbial loop is a marine trophic pathway which incorporates dissolved organic carbon into the food chain.. The microbial loop describes a trophic pathway where, in aquatic systems, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is returned to higher trophic levels via its incorporation into bacterial biomass, and then coupled with the classic food chain formed by phytoplankton-zooplankton-nekton.
Zooplankton comprise the second level in the food chain, and includes small crustaceans, such as copepods and krill, and the larva of fish, squid, lobsters and crabs. In turn, small zooplankton are consumed by both larger predatory zooplankters, such as krill, and by forage fish, which are small, schooling, filter-feeding fish. This makes up ...
A planktivore is an aquatic organism that feeds on planktonic food, including zooplankton and phytoplankton. [1] [2] Planktivorous organisms encompass a range of some of the planet's smallest to largest multicellular animals in both the present day and in the past billion years; basking sharks and copepods are just two examples of giant and microscopic organisms that feed upon plankton.
The result is high primary production by photosynthetic life such as phytoplankton and floating sargassum; zooplankton, free-floating creatures ranging from microscopic foraminiferans to small fish and shrimp, feed on the phytoplankton (and one another); both trophic levels in turn form the base of the food chain (or, more properly, web) that ...
Autotrophic protists that make their own food without needing to consume other organisms, usually by photosynthesis (sometimes by chemosynthesis) Green algae, Pyramimonas: Red and brown algae, diatoms, coccolithophores and some dinoflagellates. Plant-like protists are important components of phytoplankton discussed below. Animal-like
Plankton are defined by their ecological niche, not by any phylogenetic or taxonomic classification. They are a crucial source of food for many marine animals, from forage fish to whales. Plankton can be divided into a plant-like component and an animal component.