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Phytoplankton (/ ˌ f aɪ t oʊ ˈ p l æ ŋ k t ə n /) are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems.The name comes from the Greek words φυτόν (phyton), meaning 'plant', and πλαγκτός (planktos), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'.
However, the matter that makes up living organisms is conserved and recycled. The six most common elements associated with organic molecules—carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur—take a variety of chemical forms and may exist for long periods in the atmosphere, on land, in water, or beneath the Earth's surface.
Organic compounds in the form of sugars, carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins are synthesized during the process of photosynthesis: CO 2 + H 2 O + light → CH 2 O + O 2. In addition to carbon, organic matter found in phytoplankton is composed of nitrogen, phosphorus and various trace metals.
Here, the responses of P:C and N:C ratios of marine phytoplankton have been synthesized to five major drivers (inorganic phosphorus, inorganic nitrogen, inorganic iron, irradiance, and temperature) by a meta-analysis of experimental data across 366 experiments from 104 journal articles.
Phytoplankton absorb energy from the Sun and nutrients from the water to produce their own nourishment or energy. In the process of photosynthesis, phytoplankton release molecular oxygen (O 2) into the water as a waste byproduct. It is estimated that about 50% of the world's oxygen is produced via phytoplankton photosynthesis. [61]
Aquatic photosynthesis is the occurrence of photosynthesis in the aquatic environment, which includes the freshwater environment and the marine (saltwater) environment. . Organisms that perform photosynthesis in the aquatic environment include but are not limited to plants, algae, cyanobacteria, [1] coral, [2] phytoplankton (also known as micro
Carbon fixation produces the three-carbon sugar intermediate, which is then converted into the final carbohydrate products. The simple carbon sugars photosynthesis produces are then used to form other organic compounds, such as the building material cellulose, the precursors for lipid and amino acid biosynthesis, or as a fuel in cellular ...
The ocean produces about half of the world's oxygen and stores 50 times more carbon dioxide than the atmosphere. [17] Prochlorococcus, an influential bacterium which produces much of the world's oxygen. Among the phytoplankton are members from a phylum of bacteria called cyanobacteria. Marine cyanobacteria include the smallest known ...