Algae In Ocean Food Chains

The ocean food chain diagram given in this article only scratches the surface.

Algae in ocean food chains. For example algae have been found in antarctic sea ice. Algae is an important part of the ocean food chain because it is used to eat other organisms and also protects other life form as well. As sea water freezes algae living in the water are frozen in the ice where they later can be released during a thaw. Herring is a smaller fish that also consumes algae to provide food for survival.

The heron and the fish are links in the food chain. They are eaten by primary consumers like zooplankton small fish and crustaceans. Phytoplankton and algae form the bases of aquatic food webs. Humans consume aquatic life from every section of this food web.

Secondary consumers include the baleen whale and the much smaller herring. A mosquito larva eats the algae and then perhaps a dragonfly larva eats the young mosquito. The food web of the marine biome is way too complex to be reflected in detail here. The stoplight and queen parrotfish even take nips of coral.

The role of algae in ocean and food chains is to be producer for all different kind of consumer. These algae are a vital source of food for krill the shrimp like organisms eaten. This is where most reef and beach sand comes from. Even in the coldest parts of the ocean algae provide the primary source of organic material to animals at the bottom of the food chain.

The final product sand is then sprinkled over the reef. The dragonfly larva becomes food for a fish which provides a tasty meal for a raccoon. Similar to land plants algae are at the base of the food chain and given that plants are virtually absent from the oceans the existence of nearly all marine life including whales seals fishes turtles shrimps lobsters clams octopuses sea stars and worms ultimately depends upon algae. Organic materials are moved up the food chain as higher organisms feed on those lower down the chain.

Top ocean predators include large sharks billfish dolphins toothed whales and large seals. This is a simple way of understanding how transfer of energy takes place in the marine system and is a great way of explaining marine biology to kids. Primary consumers are in turn eaten by fish small sharks corals and baleen whales. The parrotfish gut then processes the coral calcium carbonate skeleton.

Learn all about the intriguing ocean food chain and be amazed. Secondary consumers on the next level of the food chain also consume algae along with other forms of marine plants and animals. In a pond the autotroph might be algae. Parrotfish are algae eaters that use powerful fused beaks to remove algae from dead coral.

In the food chain its show the feeding relation to consumer. The baleen whale is a large mammal with few predators that filter materials from the ocean through their mouths this material includes algae and plankton.