Ocean Food Chain

The eco-system of the oceans of the world is controlled by the marine food chain. The marine scientists call the ocean food chain as marine food web. The reason is many of the marine species nourish on more than one kind of creature or food. There are many marine inmates who eat the members of their own group. Are you aware of the fact marine biome is the largest biome on earth?

Ocean Food Chain

Phytoplankton: These are the single-celled marine plants that live on the sunlit upper layers of the ocean, the "euphotic zone". Phytoplankton include dinoflagellates, coccolithophores and diatoms. The phytoplankton are known as the primary producers of food because they use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and the other nutrients into carbohydrates that are used by the marine creatures. Ninety-five percent of the primary food is derived from the phytoplankton.

Zooplankton: The small floating animals known as zooplankton eat the phytoplankton. Shrimp, copepods, jellyfish, mollusc are some of the examples of zooplankton. The larger zooplankton eat the smaller zooplankton.

Small Bait Fish: Examples of small bait fishes include sardines, crabs, lobsters and herrings. These fishes eat zooplankton and the larger fishes of the ocean in turn eat them.

Large Fish: Shark, sword fish, tuna and octopus are examples of large fishes. The larger fishes feed on smaller fishes.

Predators: The predators of the ocean include whales, sharks, killer whales and so on. The predators form the fourth layer of the ocean food chain. The predators during their feeding season feed not only on the larger fishes, but also on the members of their species or groups.

The sea mammals such as seal, walrus, sea lion and dolphin also help to maintain the ocean food chain. Oceanography and marine science unravels many an unsolved mystery, which fascinate mankind even today.