What eats phytoplankton in the Arctic?

Phytoplankton and ice algae are eaten by zooplankton, and in turn, zooplankton are eaten by polar cod, seabirds, and the bowhead whales.

Do Arctic fish eat phytoplankton?

In the Arctic, they eat phytoplankton and are in turn eaten by fish, birds, seals, and even carnivorous plankton. These tiny little krill are also the primary food source for baleen whales.

Where does phytoplankton go on a food web?

Producers. Primary producers — including bacteria, phytoplankton, and algae — form the lowest trophic level, the base of the aquatic food web. Primary producers synthesize their own energy without needing to eat.

Why are phytoplankton important in the Arctic?

Why is plankton important? Micro plankton (Bacteria, Archaea, microbial eukaryotes and phytoplankton) and zooplankton are the base of the Arctic marine food web, feeding large-sized zooplankton, fishes, seabirds and marine mammals.

What is the food web in the Arctic ocean?

Ocean Food Chain The primary consumers in the Arctic Ocean are phytoplankton and crustaceans that consume the zooplankton. Harp seals are secondary consumers, which mainly eat fish like Arctic cod and Arctic char, and some crustaceans. The top predators, or tertiary consumers, are polar bears and the Orca whale.

What organisms are at the base of the food web in the Arctic?

Zooplankton: Primary consumers in marine food webs. Small animals that graze on phytoplankton. FIgure 1 When sea ice melts in spring, sunlight reaches phytoplankton at the ice edge and causes it to bloom, forming the base of the marine Arctic food web.

What type of fish eat phytoplankton?

Then the younger fish, plankton-feeding fishes (such as the menhaden and herrings), crustaceans (such as crabs, lobsters, and shrimp), and many other sea animals feed on the plankton. They, in turn, are eaten by larger carnivores such as tuna, halibut, shark, and squid.

Is phytoplankton a primary consumer?

Phytoplankton are primary consumers.

What role do plankton play in food chain?

Plankton play a key role in the oceanic food web They also provide the primary food source for zooplankton and together form the base of the oceanic food web. Larger and larger zooplankton, fish, birds, and marine mammals depend on these plankton for their survival.

Is there phytoplankton in the Arctic?

Each summer, parts of the Arctic Ocean and peripheral seas lose their ice cover and bathe in ample sunlight. In this window of time, some of these open-water areas come to life with phytoplankton blooms so large and vivid they can be seen from space.

How do phytoplankton live in the Arctic?

Like plants on land, phytoplankton use sunlight and nutrients to produce their own food. Cold, polar water is the perfect breeding ground for phytoplankton. Each spring when sea ice melts in the Arctic or Antarctic, the ice leaves behind a layer of fresh water on the ocean surface that is full of nutrients.

What eats phytoplankton in the Arctic marine food web?

Figure 3 – The Arctic’s marine food web [ 2 ]. Phytoplankton and ice algae are eaten by zooplankton, and in turn, zooplankton are eaten by polar cod, seabirds, and the bowhead whales. This shows how both phytoplankton and zooplankton are an incredibly important food supply to the rest of the Arctic’s ecosystem.

How does phytoplankton affect the Arctic ecosystem?

Phytoplankton fuel the Arctic food web, affecting the entire marine ecosystem. A shift in the timeline of phytoplankton’s peak production can impact the fish, zooplankton, and migratory animals like whales and birds that feed on it.

What is the distribution of phytoplankton in the Canadian Arctic?

Tremblay, G. et al. Late summer phytoplankton distribution along a 3500 km transect in Canadian Arctic waters: strong numerical dominance by picoeukaryotes. Aquat. Microb. Ecol. 54, 55–70 (2009). Berge, J. et al. Diel vertical migration of Arctic zooplankton during the polar night. Biol. Lett. 5, 69–72 (2009).

How does the food web change in the Arctic Ocean?

We focus on changes near the bottom of the food web, involving tiny plants that dwell inside and below sea ice, and tiny animals that drift in the Arctic seas. Shifts in the abundance and quality of the smallest organisms in the Arctic Ocean affect larger organisms, such as polar bears and whales.