Life on Earth

Life on Earth

By feeding, i.e. source of energy a) Autotrophs, self-feeding, e.g. plants (phyto-) b) Heterotrophs, eat others, e.g. animals (zoo-)

By feeding, i.e. source of energy a) Autotrophs b) Heterotrophs By mobility a) Plankton (can float) b) Nekton (can swim) c) Benthos (confined to the bottom)

By feeding, i.e. source of energy a) Autotrophs b) Heterotrophs By mobility a) Plankton (floaters) b) Nekton (swimmers) c) Benthos (bottom-dwellers) By light a) Euphotic b) Disphotic c) Aphotic

By feeding, i.e. source of energy a) Autotrophs b) Heterotrophs By mobility a) Plankton (can float) b) Nekton (can swim) c) Benthos (confined to the bottom) By light a) Euphotic b) Disphotic c) Aphotic By habitat a) Pelagic (the water column) b) Benthic (the bottom)

By feeding, i.e. source of energy a) Autotrophs b) Heterotrophs By mobility a) Plankton (can float) b) Nekton (can swim) c) Benthos (confined to the bottom) By light a) Euphotic b) Disphotic c) Aphotic By habitat a) Pelagic (the water column) b) Benthic (the bottom) By origin or evolutionary classification a) Bacteria b) Archaea c) Protista d) Fungi e) Plantae f) Animalia

By feeding, i.e. source of energy a) Autotrophs b) Heterotrophs By mobility a) Plankton (can float) b) Nekton (can swim) c) Benthos (confined to the bottom) By light a) Euphotic b) Disphotic c) Aphotic By habitat a) Pelagic (the water column) b) Benthic (the bottom) By origin or evolutionary classification a) Bacteria b) Archaea c) Protista d) Fungi e) Plantae f) Animalia By position in the food chain a) Primary Producers b) Herbivores/Grazers c) Carnivores

By feeding, i.e. source of energy a) Autotrophs b) Heterotrophs By mobility a) Plankton (can float) b) Nekton (can swim) c) Benthos (confined to the bottom) By light a) Euphotic b) Disphotic c) Aphotic And by ecosystem: Tidal flats Coastal waters Coral reefs Open ocean The abyss By habitat a) Pelagic (the water column) b) Benthic (the bottom) By origin or evolutionary classification a) Bacteria b) Archaea c) Protista d) Fungi e) Plantae f) Animalia By position in the food chain a) Primary Producers b) Herbivores/Grazers c) Carnivores

What is productivity? It is photosynthesis. Sometimes referred to as primary productivity. In its simplest form, focusing on the carbon: CO 2 + H 2 O CH 2 O + O 2 Carbon dioxide Water Carbohydrate Oxygen

Fig. 12-2, p. 273

And it s really part of a larger carbon cycle. Photosynthesis (light) CO 2 + H 2 O CH 2 O + O 2 Chemical (oxidative) energy Respiration

Fig. 12-3, p. 273

Fig. 13-8, p. 306

Fig. 13-2, p. 300

Fig. 13-3, p. 301

Fig. 12-5b, p. 275

Fig. 12-5a, p. 275

Fig. 13-5a, p. 303

Fig. 13-5b, p. 303

Fig. 13-5c, p. 303

Fig. 13-6a, p. 304

Fig. 13-6b, p. 304

Fig. 13-7a, p. 305

Fig. 13-7b, p. 305

Fig. 13-7c, p. 305

Coccolithophores: calcareous phytoplankton (photosynthetic/autotrophs)

Foramifera: calcareous (CaCO 3 ) heterotrophs http://www.ucl.ac.uk/geolsci/micropal/calcnanno.html

Foramifera: calcareous (CaCO 3 ) heterotrophs http://www.ucl.ac.uk/geolsci/micropal/calcnanno.html

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/geolsci/micropal/calcnanno.html Foramifera: calcareous (CaCO 3 ) heterotrophs

Diatoms: siliceous (SiO 2 ) phytoplankton (photosynthetic/autotrophs) http://www.ucl.ac.uk/geolsci/micropal/calcnanno.html

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/geolsci/micropal/calcnanno.html Diatoms: siliceous (SiO 2 ) phytoplankton (photosynthetic/auto trophs)

Radiolarians: siliceous (SiO 2 ) heterotrophs http://www.ucl.ac.uk/geolsci/micropal/calcnanno.html

Radiolarians http://www.ucl.ac.uk/geolsci/micropal/calcnanno.html

Coccolithophorid QuickFacts: Cell size: 0.2 to 2 microns Cell wall: CaCO 3 coccoliths or scales Chloroplasts: none, single thylakoid membrane Photo-pigments: chlorophyll a & c, carotenoids Reproduction: simple cell division, rarely sexual reproduction Ecological roles: biflagellated, produce chalk deposits Common genus: Emiliana Diatom QuickFacts: Cell size: 20-200 microns Cell wall: SiO 2 or glass frustule Chloroplasts: many/cell, 3-5 thylakoid membranes/stack Photo-pigments: chlorophyll a & c, carotenoids Reproduction: most often simple cell division, sexual reproduction Ecological roles: produce deposits (diatomaceous earth), toxic blooms Common genera: Chaetoceros, Pseudonitzschia, Skeletonema http://www.mbari.org/staff/conn/botany/phytoplankton/phytoplankton_coccolithophorids.htm

However, it s a little more complicated than that, because in order to live and grow (form proteins, chlorophyll, ATP, etc.) a plant actually needs: inputs outputs Carbon dioxide water nutrients (N, P, trace elements) Light Plant Biomass (CNP) Oxygen which produces and gives off If any of these inputs is missing, photosynthesis is limited.

On land growth of plants can be limited by nutrients, light or water. But in the ocean growth of plants is limited only by nutrients or light.

Fig. 12-6a, p. 276

Surface Water Phosphate Concentrations NOAA-NESDIS-National Oceanographic Data Center- Climatology

Surface Water Temperature (SST)

Depth (m) 0 0 Vertical Structure of the Open Ocean Temperature ( C) 10 20 30 also the photic zone Surface water: a well mixed layer; single temperature; warm and buoyant 100 200 300 400 The thermocline: depth of most rapid temperature change; boundary between surface and deep water Deep Water: large homogeneous body of water; cold and dense Low and Midlatitude surface water is generally well stratified 500

Depth (m) Depth (m) Temperature ( C) Nitrate ( mol/kg) 0 0 N Atlantic 10 20 30 0 0 10 20 30 N Atlantic 30 100 13 N 100 200 200 13 N 300 300 400 400 500 500 Low latitude surface water is stratified High latitude surface water is mixed Low latitude surface water is nutrient-poor High latitude surface water is nutrient-rich NABE #042000614; Sta 5; cast 1; EQPAC; Sta 0; 13.2 N, 142 E

Where does photosynthesis not occur in the ocean? At the center of oceanic gyres: Deep mixed layers and thermoclines, low winds, net downward water flux The oceanic gyres are the deserts of the ocean

Where does photosynthesis occur in the ocean? Along continental margins: especially near river mouths, (groundwater and river runoff, spring melt and rainy season) nearly constant Open ocean; high latitudes: seasonally active; (poor stratification due to cold air and little sunlight; nutrient-rich), light-limited Open ocean; mid to low latitudes: wind-driven upwelling (coastal, equatorial, monsoonal and sporadic; plenty of sunlight) nutrient-limited

Equatorial Upwelling (a) 5 N Ekman transport Equator 5 S Map view Cross section

Coastal Upwelling Fig. 8-15a, p. 183

Examples of where there are high rates of photosynthesis in surface ocean water: Nearly all continental margins Near River Mouths: Congo, Amazon, Mississippi Coastal Upwelling: Peru, Namibia & NW Africa Open ocean; low latitudes: Equatorial Pacific, Indian Ocean (Arabian Sea), Open ocean; high latitudes: North Atlantic and Pacific, Southern Ocean (polar fronts, convergent and divergent zones)

And it s really part of a larger carbon cycle. Photosynthesis (light) CO 2 + H 2 O CH 2 O + O 2 Chemical (oxidative) energy Respiration

Fig. 12-9, p. 277

Fig. 12-8, p. 277

Fig. 13-9, p. 306

Fig. 13-10, p. 307

Fig. 13-12, p. 308

Fig. 13-13, p. 308