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♤ Derived from the Greek words phyto (plant) and plankton (made to wander or drift), phytoplankton are microscopic plant organisms that live in aquatic environments, both salty and fresh.
♤ Some phytoplankton are bacteria, some are protists, and most are single-celled plants. Among the common kinds are cyanobacteria, silica-encased diatoms, dinoflagellates, green algae, and chalk-coated coccolithophores.
♤ Phytoplankton produce more than 60% of oxygen produced from all plants.
♤ Like land plants, all phytoplankton have chlorophyll to capture sunlight, and they use photosynthesis to turn it into chemical energy. They consume carbon dioxide, and release oxygen. All phytoplankton photosynthesize, but some get additional energy by consuming other organisms.
♤ These micro-algae are present throughout the lighted regions of all the seas and oceans including the Polar Regions.
♤ Their total biomass is many times greater than that of the total plants on land and they serve as the “pasture grounds” in the aquatic environment.
Do you know?
Sea Kraits are one of the few sea snakes that go to land to lay their eggs while most others, like the Olive sea snake will give birth in the water.