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Phytoplankton are a key food item in both aquaculture and mariculture. Both utilize phytoplankton as food for the animals being farmed. In mariculture, the phytoplankton is naturally occurring and is introduced into enclosures with the normal circulation of seawater. In aquaculture, phytoplankton must be obtained and introduced directly.
Most shellfish are low on the food chain and eat a diet composed primarily of phytoplankton and zooplankton. [3] Many varieties of shellfish, and crustaceans in particular, are actually closely related to insects and arachnids ; crustaceans make up one of the main subphyla of the phylum Arthropoda .
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.
Krill is a rich source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids which are under development in the early 21st century as human food, dietary supplements as oil capsules, livestock food, and pet food. [ 77 ] [ 79 ] [ 84 ] Krill tastes salty with a somewhat stronger fish flavor than shrimp.
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.
Nearly all seafood, including fish and shellfish, contains trace amounts of mercury from the surrounding water, which they absorb when they feed, per the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Marine ciliates are major grazers of the phytoplankton. [97] [98] Phytoplankton primary production supports higher trophic levels and fuels microbial remineralization. [99] [100] The dominant pelagic grazers of phytoplankton are typically associated with distinct operating modes of the food web compartments and nutrient cycling.
Phytoplankton are an essential base of the marine food web and absorb carbon dioxide dissolved in the ocean that originally came from the atmosphere. The tiny organisms occupy the uppermost layer of ocean water, called the mixed layer , where waves and currents continually churn, drawing up nutrients from a deeper layer of water below.