Sentences with phrase «plankton ecosystem»
The phrase "plankton ecosystem" refers to a community of tiny organisms that live in water, such as algae and small animals. They are vital for the health of the ocean and support the food chain by providing food for larger sea creatures. Full definition
Local factors such as ocean streams, temperature, depth, and acidity determine the composition of plankton ecosystems, Karsenti said.
sciencemag.org
Indeed, cod have already been negatively affected.3, 10 The shifts in plankton ecosystems linked to warmer surface temperatures have produced a poor food environment for young cod (larvae), reducing the chances that they will survive until they are large enough to be harvested.10
Findings published today in the journal Nature Climate Change reveal that water temperature has a direct impact on maintaining the delicate plankton ecosystem of our oceans.
One of the key findings from the research expedition is that temperature shapes which species are present in a given plankton ecosystem, a fact that could take on increasing importance in the face of climate change.
The unfavorable changes in the plankton ecosystem parallel a warming of the sea surface, Beaugrand says.
For example, they may help researchers understand the full — and perhaps changing — potential for the plankton ecosystem to act as a sink to absorb carbon dioxide from the air.
«We could use the map to predict if extinction is likely to propagate through the plankton ecosystem, for example,» Lima - Mendez said, «or to predict the presence of organisms living inside other ones, engaging in symbiosis.»
«They're incorporating iron in their shells for another purpose, keeping it from others and affecting the plankton ecosystem.»
But we wanted to observe the natural development of the plankton ecosystem from the first productivity in late winter until summer, closely monitor the succession of the plankton communities and follow how effects of ocean acidification are transmitted from one generation to the next,» Riebesell explains.