10 Phytoplankton play an important role in which of the following biogeochemical cycles? Ideas (2023)

FAQs

What role do phytoplankton play in the biogeochemical cycles? ›

Phytoplankton are key players in the global carbon cycle, contributing about half of global primary productivity. Within the phytoplankton, functional groups (characterized by distinct traits) have impacts on other major biogeochemical cycles, such as nitrogen, phosphorus and silica.

Through photosynthesis, phytoplankton use sunlight, nutrients, carbon dioxide, and water to produce oxygen and nutrients for other organisms. With 71% of the Earth covered by the ocean, phytoplankton are responsible for producing up to 50% of the oxygen we breathe.

Phytoplankton are microscopic marine algae.

In a balanced ecosystem, they provide food for a wide range of sea creatures. Phytoplankton, also known as microalgae, are similar to terrestrial plants in that they contain chlorophyll and require sunlight in order to live and grow.

The Carbon Cycle. The element carbon is a part of seawater, the atmosphere, rocks such as limestone and coal, soils, as well as all living things. On our dynamic planet, carbon is able to move from one of these realms to another as a part of the carbon cycle.

Energy Pyramid. The First Trophic Level consists of marine plants. This is made up of single-celled phytoplankton, algae and some seagrasses. They bring carbon into the food chain by fixating energy from the sun, and release oxygen into the water and atmosphere.

The oceanic carbon cycle and nitrogen cycle have an interdependent relationship. Like land plants, phytoplankton need nitrogen and other nutrients to make important carbon compounds needed to grow and reproduce.

Plankton are at the base of the food chain, meaning they are critical in supporting marine and freshwater food webs. Phytoplankton are also primary produces, meaning they use photosynthesis to convert carbon dioxide to oxygen, and are responsible for up to half of the oxygen we breathe.

Climate and the Carbon Cycle

Phytoplankton are responsible for most of the transfer of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to the ocean. Carbon dioxide is consumed during photosynthesis, and the carbon is incorporated in the phytoplankton, just as carbon is stored in the wood and leaves of a tree.

Phytoplankton make their energy through photosynthesis, the process of using chlorophyll and sunlight to create energy. Like other plants, phytoplankton take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen.

Phytoplankton live in the photic zone of the ocean, where photosynthesis is possible. During photosynthesis, they assimilate carbon dioxide and release oxygen.

What is the 4 biogeochemical cycles? ›

Biogeochemical cycles important to living organisms include the water, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur cycles.

The most important biogeochemical cycles are the water cycle, the carbon cycle, and the nitrogen cycle. The water cycle is the process by which water moves between the Earth's surface and the atmosphere.

Biogeochemical cycles keep essential elements available to plants and other organisms. Energy flows directionally through ecosystems, entering as sunlight (or inorganic molecules for chemoautotrophs) and leaving as heat during energy transformation between trophic levels.

Prochlorococcus and other ocean phytoplankton are responsible for 70 percent of Earth's oxygen production.

Phytoplankton are filled with chlorophyll which gives them a green colour, just like land plants. And like land plants, phytoplankton play a critical role, converting carbon dioxide and energy from the sun into food through photosynthesis, producing oxygen.

Producers. Primary producers — including bacteria, phytoplankton, and algae — form the lowest trophic level, the base of the aquatic food web.

Phytoplankton cells can undergo transitions between an actively growing phase during which biomass is intrinsically increasing (in the absence of external losses), and other life phases in which cells are dormant or quiescent, undergo sexual reproduction or die.

Answer and Explanation: Phytoplankton needs nitrogen to make biological molecules. Many important biological molecules such as DNA and proteins require nitrogen to be made. Nitrogen availability is often an important factor that limits the growth rate of phytoplankton.

The two most important nutrients for phytoplankton growth are the elements nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), which are found naturally in aquatic environments in various concentrations. Iron, zinc and manganese are also essential, but they are needed only in very small quantities.

Like plants on land, phytoplankton perform photosynthesis to convert the sun's rays into energy to support them, and they take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. Because they need the sun's energy, phytoplankton are found near the water's surface.

What factors affect phytoplankton growth? ›

The climate, weather and chemical conditions are then resolved into the components light intensity, duration of illumination, temperature, concentration of nutrients, ionic balance and pH, and these are classified according to specific effects on the growth and survival of plankton algae as limiting, controlling and ...

Like plants, phytoplankton grow through photosynthesis: they use energy from the sun to combine CO₂ and nutrients into carbohydrates, which form the phytoplankton's cells.

Living organisms—especially marine plants called phytoplankton—require nitrogen in processes such as photosynthesis. In turn, phytoplankton growth takes up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and helps regulate global climate. The nitrogen cycle is a critical part of the earth's balance.

Through photosynthesis, phytoplankton consume carbon dioxide on a scale equivalent to forests and other land plants.

The marine processes that contribute to the ocean's biological pump begin with phytoplankton, microscopic organisms that soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow. When they die, phytoplankton collectively sink through the water column as “marine snow,” carrying that carbon with them.

[7] (c) Evidence from laboratory culture [Langdon, 1993] and natural populations [Grande et al., 1989a] suggest that phytoplankton respire during the day at the same rate as at night.

Cyanobacteria and other phytoplankton photosynthesize as plants do, and produce the same sugar and oxygen for use in cellular respiration.

Abstract. Phytoplankton biomass in the world's oceans amounts to only ∽1-2% of the total global plant carbon, yet these organisms fix between 30 and 50 billion metric tons of carbon annually, which is about 40% of the total.

Some live like plants, and are called phytoplankton. They make food from simple chemicals and live in the oceans' upper zone to get sunlight. The phytoplankton are eaten by swarms of tiny animal plankton, called zooplankton. The zooplankton are then eaten in vast numbers by fish and other marine creatures.

Some plankton, such as diatoms, grow better at cooler temperatures. Warming may cause other, less palatable, species to replace them, depriving zooplankton and menhaden of their primary food source. Because phytoplankton are linked to freshwater and nutrient inputs, draught will likely decrease their abundance.

What are 5 examples of biogeochemical cycles? ›

Four processes participate in the cycling of nitrogen through the biosphere: (1) nitrogen fixation, (2) decay, (3) nitrification, and (4) denitrification. Microorganisms play major roles in all four of these.

Some examples of the biogeochemical cycles are the phosphorus cycle, oxygen cycle, carbon cycle and nitrogen cycle. Human activities have different impacts on the various biogeochemical cycles.

Biogeochemical cycles (definition) the cycles that move water, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen through living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem. Precipitation (definition) water that travels from the atmosphere to the ground.

List four major biogeochemical cycles. The water cycle, the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle, and the phosphorus cycle.

The carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen cycles are all biogeochemical cycles. They show the movement of elements through living and nonliving components of the Earth.

Key points about Biogeochemical cycles:

Water, carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen cycles are the most important cycles that tend to form the basic part of biogeochemical cycles. The water cycle is considered to be one of the most important cycles and is an important driver of the biogeochemical cycles.

biogeochemical cycles. The continual movement of water between Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land surface through evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. The series of processes by which carbon compounds are interconverted in the environment.

One of the most important cycles on earth, the carbon cycle is the process through which the organisms of the biosphere recycle and reuse carbon.

By taking up carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the air, phytoplankton play a large role in the natural carbon cycle, helping to regulate the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere and keep the Earth's climate in balance.

What is one role of biogeochemical cycles in ecosystems? ›

Over geological time, biogeochemical cycles are responsible for altering the chemistry of the ocean, atmosphere, and terrestrial ecosystems such that rate-limiting reactions within key cycles modify the tempo and mode of evolution.

Phytoplankton and algae form the bases of aquatic food webs. They are eaten by primary consumers like zooplankton, small fish, and crustaceans. Primary consumers are in turn eaten by fish, small sharks, corals, and baleen whales.

Answer: The microscopic phytoplankton are tiny forms of plant life on the sea. They nourish and sustain the entire southern ocean's food chain. They are single-celled plants and use the energy of the sun to assimilate carbon supplying oxygen and synthesise compounds.

The ocean produces oxygen through the plants (phytoplankton, kelp, and algal plankton) that live in it. These plants produce oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis, a process which converts carbon dioxide and sunlight into sugars the organism can use for energy.

Biogeochemical cycles important to living organisms include the water, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur cycles.

Thus, the correct answer is 'Phytoplankton → Zooplankton → Fishes. '

Phytoplankton are some of Earth's most critical organisms and so it is vital study and understand them. They generate about half the atmosphere's oxygen, as much per year as all land plants. Phytoplankton also form the base of virtually every ocean food web. In short, they make most other ocean life possible.

Phytoplankton has an impact on climate change by reducing atmospheric CO2 levels through the sinking of produced organic and inorganic matter to the deep ocean. Climate change or more specifically global warming, with consequences of elevated seawater temperatures and decreased pH levels, undoubtedly ...