Plankton

About Phytoplankton Bloom:

• Phytoplanktons are microscopic plants, but they play a huge role in the marine food web.
• 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.
• Phytoplankton bloom
  • Phytoplankton population explosion-blooms occur when sunlight and nutrients are abundantly available to the plants.
  • When light, nutrients and other conditions, such as temperature, are at the best level for phytoplankton, they can rapidly multiply and flourish. This leads to the development of phytoplankton bloom.
  • They grow and reproduce to a point where they are so dense that their presence changes the color of the water in which they live.
  • Blooms can be quick events that begin and end within a few days or they may last several weeks. 
• Ecological significance
  • Phytoplankton is estimated to produce about 50 per cent of Earth’s oxygen.
  • They have a crucial role in the global carbon cycle.
  • They provide an essential food source for organisms like zooplanktons.
  • Just like land plants, they grow more in certain seasons.

Q1: What is the carbon cycle?

It is the process that moves carbon between plants, animals, and microbes; minerals in the earth; and the atmosphere. Carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the universe. 

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