aquatic food webs

Aquatic Food Webs• Connected to and affected by

terrestrial food webs• Examples?• Humans, birds

• A Million to OneMarine food webs are usually longer than terrestrial food webs. Scientists estimate that if there are a million producers (algae, phytoplankton, and sea grass) in a food web, there may only be 10,000 herbivores. Such a food web may support 100 secondary consumers, such as tuna. All these organisms support only one apex predator, such as a person.

Aquatic Food Webs• Begin with…?• Microbes – phyto and zoo –

plankton• These are the most abundant

life form in the ocean

• Produce over half the earth’s O2

Aquatic Food Webs• Productivity is greatest in euphotic

zone – why? • Primary Consumers – copepods,

shrimp, Larval fish and jellyfish

Marine Resources• They are finite and limited• Human use of resources has

increased

Marine Resources• What does the ocean provide

us…?• Transportation, food, minerals

(manganese, salt, sand),recreation, oil

Marine Resources• The air we breathe• The food on your plate - algae

and kelp are used in making peanut butter soymilk and frozen foods.

• The items in your medicine cabinet shampoos, cosmetics, medicines

• Jobs and the economy. One in six jobs in the United States is marine related