Any ecosystem is dependent all of the parts being present in the correct proportions. The earth itself can be seen as a huge ecosystem with the same thing being true. One vital but often under appreciated aspect of this world environment is the tiny phytoplankton. Without these mighty mites all of the world’s habitats could be destroyed.
Phytoplankton are tiny organisms present in all the oceans and many of the larger freshwater lakes of the world. They are responsible for a great deal of the world’s oxygen supply and an integral part of the oceans food chain.
Phytoplankton are so named because the use photosynthesis to create energy for themselves. This chemical process draws carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and produces oxygen as a waste product. What the organisms cells consider waste most of the world requires to survive. Unbelievably, these tiny plants are responsible for supplying fifty percent of the earth’s oxygen.
These tiny organisms are also an essential link of the ocean’s food chain. They are the primary food source for a huge variety of small fish, crustaceans and other creatures. These animals in turn feed the larger animals of the sea. A significant reduction in the number of phytoplankton around the globe would result in an exponential reduction of every other creature found in the oceans. This would in turn have a negative impact on life on dry land.
That is the crux of a problem facing the world today. Since the mid nineteen hundreds the number of phytoplankton present in the waters of the earth have fallen by over forty percent. The result of this has been an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as well as a large decrease in the amount of oxygen found there. This reduction has strained the ecosystems of the seas as well as that of the globe as a whole.
It is vitally important that the reason for this steady decline in phytoplankton numbers is discovered and rectified. Any further reduction in their numbers could very realistically put every living creature on earth, including human beings, at risk for extinction. They may be small in size but they are huge when you consider the impact they have.
Phytoplankton are an intricate part of the planet’s ecosystem. Learn all the details on everything you must to know about these tiny organisms now in our guide to marine phytoplankton .