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BookmarkPhytoplankton refers to the autotrophic component of the plankton that drifts in the water column.
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Most phytoplankton are too small to be individually seen with the unaided eye.
Phytoplankton, like plants, obtain energy through a process called photosynthesis, and so must live in the well-lit surface layer of an ocean, sea, or lake.
Through photosynthesis, phytoplankton (and terrestrial plants) are responsible for much of the oxygen present in the Earth's atmosphere.
Their cumulative energy fixation in carbon compounds (primary production) is the basis for the vast majority of oceanic and some freshwater food chains..
For more information about the topic Phytoplankton, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:
Food chain — Food chains and food webs and/or food networks describe the feeding relationships between species in a biotic community. In other words, they show ... > read more
Plankton — Plankton are drifting organisms that inhabit the water column of oceans, seas, and bodies of fresh water. Plankton abundance and distribution are ... > read more
Trophic level — In ecology, the trophic level is the position that an organism occupies in a food chain - what it eats, and what eats it. Wildlife biologists look at ... > read more
Carbon cycle — The carbon cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged between the biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere of the Earth. ... > read more
