13.c: Trophic Levels

TODAY’S TARGET: I can determine what factors limit productivity in different parts of the ocean using target vocabulary. Water and carbon dioxide are abundant in the ocean and do not limit productivity.  Sunlight Nutrients No light = no photosynthesis Uppermost surface seawater and shallow seafloor Compensation depth: net photosynthesis becomes zero Euphotic zone: from surface to about 100 meters (330 feet) Nitrogen, a nutrient required in great quantity, takes a long time to be renewed by bacteria and is thus a limiting factor. Nitrate, phosphorous, iron, silica –Most from river runoff –Productivity high along continental margins Macronutrients, compounds that contain phosphorus, nitrogen or silicon, are required in large amounts. Micronutrients are chemical substances that are indispensable to plant life but are needed only in very small amounts. Due to the availability of nutrients from land runoff, where sunlight is not limiting, coastal waters are more productive than the open ocean. Plankton blooms occur whenever and wherever light and nutrients abound. 13. Primary Production

TODAY’S TARGET: I can determine what factors limit productivity in different parts of the ocean using target vocabulary. Secondary factors are upwelling, turbulence, grazing intensity and water turbidity. Strong waves and strong tidal currents can cause water turbulence which mixes the water column so that nutrients from the bottom are brought to the surface. Upwelling returns nutrients to the surface after decomposition. Thus, upwelling areas are some of the most fertile habitats on Earth. These areas are, on average, four times more productive than coastal waters and six times more productive than the open ocean. Ekman transport causes water in the center of the gyre to downwell, taking nutrients with it away from the photic zone. Net primary productivity caused by photosynthesis occurs in the water column down to the compensation depth.  13. Primary Production

TODAY’S TARGET: I can determine what factors limit productivity in different parts of the ocean using target vocabulary. Strong waves and strong tidal currents can cause water turbulence which mixes the water column so that nutrients from the bottom are brought to the surface. 13. Primary Production

TODAY’S TARGET: I can determine what factors limit productivity in different parts of the ocean using target vocabulary. Upwelling returns nutrients to the surface after decomposition. Thus, upwelling areas are some of the most fertile habitats on Earth. These areas are, on average, four times more productive than coastal waters and six times more productive than the open ocean. 13. Primary Production

TODAY’S TARGET: I can determine what factors limit productivity in different parts of the ocean using target vocabulary. Net primary productivity caused by photosynthesis occurs in the water column down to the compensation depth.  13. Primary Production

TODAY’S TARGET: I can determine what factors limit productivity in different parts of the ocean using target vocabulary. Ekman transport causes water in the center of the gyre to downwell, taking nutrients with it away from the photic zone. Antarctic productivity slightly greater than Arctic North Atlantic Deep Water upwells near Antarctica Productivity decrease from UV radiation – ozone hole 13. Primary Production

TODAY’S TARGET: I can determine what factors limit productivity in different parts of the ocean using target vocabulary. Polar Temperate Tropical Polar seas are Isothermal. At polar latitudes the availability of light controls phytoplankton growth. Nutrients are not limiting. In polar seas, plant production is high in the summer due to high nutrient levels and long daylight. Temperate seas are stratified in the summer and isothermal in winter. At temperate latitudes, light, nutrients and water column stability vary with the seasons. Tropical seas are permanently stratified. In the tropics, sunlight is available year round. However, the stability of the water column limits nutrients. As a rule, thermoclines can prevent the mixing of water. Thus, tropical regions are stable, not allowing for nutrients to surface. 13. Primary Production

Decomposer 13. Primary Production TODAY’S TARGET: I can explain the relationship between tropic pyramids and food webs using target vocabulary. Producer Nourish themselves with photosynthesis or chemosynthesis Autotrophic Consumer Eat other organisms Heterotrophic Herbivores –eat plants •Carnivores –eat other animals •Omnivores –eat plants and animals •Bacteriovores–eat bacteria Decomposer Break down dead organisms or waste Heterotrophic 13. Primary Production

TODAY’S TARGET: I can analyze trophic pyramids to learn more about the organisms in the pyramid using target vocabulary. Many animals have varied diets and feed on two or more trophic levels. 1. Suspension feeding or filter feeding Take in seawater and filter out usable organic matter 2. Deposit feeding Take in detritus and sediment and extract usable organic matter 3. Carnivorous feeding Capture and eat other animals Suspension feeding or filter feeding Take in seawater and filter out usable organic matter Deposit feeding Take in detritus and sediment and extract usable organic matter Carnivorous feeding –Capture and eat other animals 13. Primary Production

TODAY’S TARGET: I can analyze trophic pyramids to learn more about the organisms in the pyramid using target vocabulary. Suspension feeding or filter feeding Take in seawater and filter out usable organic matter Deposit feeding Take in detritus and sediment and extract usable organic matter Carnivorous feeding –Capture and eat other animals 13. Primary Production

TODAY’S TARGET: I can explain the importance of primary productivity in the ocean using target vocabulary. Biomass is the quantity of living matter. Some chemical energy is passed upward to the higher trophic levels. This energy is used by animals to grow and reproduce, resulting in an increase in biomass. Amount of Energy Passed to Next Level: 10% Amount of Energy Lost in Each Level: 90% Studies indicate that the amount of energy transferred at each trophic level is between 3 and 23% with an average of 10%. The number of individuals and total biomass decrease at successive trophic levels. Organisms increase in size up pyramid. 13. Primary Production

TODAY’S TARGET: I can explain the importance of primary productivity in the ocean using target vocabulary. Most energy from one trophic level to the next is expended as kinetic energy or used in the manufacturing of non-traditional tissue such as shell. As we proceed up the trophic pyramid, the organisms usually become larger and fewer; the biomass usually decreases markedly. The growth rate of organisms is related to their position on the trophic pyramid. Lower levels usually have higher reproductive rates. 13. Primary Production

TODAY’S TARGET: I can explain the importance of primary productivity in the ocean using target vocabulary. 13. Primary Production

13. Primary Production

Food chain Food web Primary producer Herbivore One or more carnivores TODAY’S TARGET: I can create a food web for an ocean community which uses primary producers as the base and I can make a food web. Food chain Food web Primary producer Herbivore One or more carnivores Branching network of many consumers Consumers more likely to survive with alternative food sources 13. Primary Production

Create a food web of the characters in Piper. What are the clams doing when a wave washes over them? What do you think eats sandpipers? Some biotic characters for your story: Seaweed, hermit crab, clams, dunes, sandpipers, clapper rails, barnacles. Abiotic: sunshine, bubbles, sand, waves 13. Primary Production