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