Life on the Earth is always a cycle of offering and accepting between the organisms. Everything under the sky depends on each other for their livelihood. This cycle and the undeniably accelerating climatic change has got a great connection in between. So how did this tiny creature, Phytoplankton, become a significant part of this cycle? Let’s Dive in!
The deep blue ocean is the primary starter of life forms. Phytoplankton is the master of this drifter’s world. This microscopic, plant like creature is the prime reason for all life forms in ocean and even in land.
A teaspoon of seawater can contain a million living phytoplankton. Their size varies from small algae to size bigger than humans. The name plankton originated from the Greek word planktos, which means Wandering. This tiny single-celled aquatic life turns sunlight and carbon dioxide into food (edible gold) by photosynthesis with their chlorophyll contained cells. That makes them the base for the largest food web on the earth.
From Cyanobacteria to diatoms, their diverse forms exhibit different stories of life. Some of these phytoplankton can do nitrogen fixation . Like plants, these photoautotrophs are heavily dependent on minerals and nutrients. It is possible to increase phytoplankton’s growth in large areas of ocean by supplying iron. The Bloom of phytoplankton creates a great visual experience on the ocean which is easily visible in satellite images.
But why should we thank them? Let’s list the things that makes them Aladdin’s genie.
Importance of Phytoplankton:
- Life in the ocean beds depend on them. They become prey to small as well as some large species of fishes, and that’s where the food cycle starts.
- The air (oxygen) producing capacities of plankton are distinct and significant.
- They can, and they are producing fuels for the past three billion years; guess what they are the largest suppliers of fossil fuels.
- The richness of the nutrients and euphoria to our taste buds make them an inevitable part of our dining tables . During the second world war, Britain used them as supplement in their diets.
- Fifty percentage of photosynthesis on earth depends on phytoplankton. That means they function a major role in limiting global warming and climatic changes.
Doing all these services for over three billion years without getting anything in return, phytoplankton – the niche of life, got our backs. So let’s thank them and be conscious of their life too.
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