They found that plankton, the basis of marine food webs, might react to warming in a predictable way. (newscientist.com)
In the largest study of its kind, the group has monitored the reaction of species at the base of the marine food web — viruses, bacteria, microscopic plants called phytoplankton, and their animal counterparts, zooplankton — to various degrees of acidity. (discovermagazine.com)
Thus, past and future increases in atmospheric nitrogen deposition have the potential to alter the base of the marine food web; and, in the long term, the structure of the ecosystem. (sciencedaily.com)