By: Byron Watkins & Margarita Granados

Vocabulary Phytoplankton-microscopic plants. Nitrogen-a nonmetallic element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless gas. Photosynthesis-The process in green plants and certain other organisms by which carbohydrates are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water using light as an energy source

Critical nutrients for the growth of plants Nitrogen and phosphorus are particularly critical to aquatic ecosystems because they often control the rates of photosynthesis. Nitrogen and phosphorus are less available to plants relative to their growth requirements than are other elements.

Phytoplankton Microscopic plants are known as phytoplankton. They are the grass of the sea. Where they grow there is food for marine animals. Phytoplankton are responsible for much of the oxygen present in the Earth's atmosphere.

Plants Absorb… Hydrogen Carbon Oxygen Sulfur

Oxygen in the Ocean Plants in the ocean produce over half the world's oxygen. 70% of the worlds oxygen is produced in the ocean. Plants are the basis of the food chain for almost all animals, mainly excluding those found in the deeper regions of the waters where there is very little to no sun light available to plants.

Questions Which elements are critical nutrients for the growth of plants? What are microscopic plants called? Why are plants important in ocean life? What do plants absorb? How much of the world’s oxygen is produced in the ocean?