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Caddisfly (order Trichoptera), a macroinvertebrate used as an indicator of water quality. [1] A bioindicator is any species (an indicator species) or group of species whose function, population, or status can reveal the qualitative status of the environment. The most common indicator species are animals. [2]
Over 1500 species of fungi are known from marine environments. [109] These are parasitic on marine algae or animals, or are saprobes feeding on dead organic matter from algae, corals, protozoan cysts, sea grasses, and other substrata. [110] Spores of many species have special appendages which facilitate attachment to the substratum. [111]
Numerous biotic indices have been created to account for the indicator species found in each region of study. The concept of the biotic index was developed by Cherie Stephens in an effort to provide a simple measurement of stream pollution and its effects on the biology of the stream. [citation needed]
Indicator bacteria themselves may not be pathogenic but their presence in waste may indicate the presence of other pathogens. [1] Similar to how there are various types of indicator organisms, there are also various types of indicator bacteria. The most common indicators are total coliforms, fecal coliforms, E. coli, and enterococci. [2]
Marine primary production is the chemical synthesis in the ocean of organic compounds from atmospheric or dissolved carbon dioxide. It principally occurs through the process of photosynthesis , which uses light as its source of energy, but it also occurs through chemosynthesis , which uses the oxidation or reduction of inorganic chemical ...
Zooplankton are partially responsible for the active energy flux between superficial and deep layers of the ocean. [25] [26] [27] Zooplankton species composition, biomass, and secondary production influence a wide range of trophic levels in marine communities, as they constitute a link between primary production and secondary consumers.
They produce 25–45% of the total primary production of organic material in the oceans, [58] [59] [60] owing to their prevalence in open-ocean regions when total phytoplankton biomass is maximal. [61] [62] Diatoms are enclosed in protective silica (glass) shells called frustules. They are classified by the shape of these glass cages in which ...
As primary consumers, zooplankton are the crucial link between the primary producers (mainly phytoplankton) and the rest of the marine food web (secondary consumers); [191] the ocean's primary producers are mostly tiny phytoplankton which have r-strategist traits of growing and reproducing rapidly, so a small mass can have a fast rate of ...