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You probably get the majority of your days' food from the grocery store, which, in turn, comes from farms. Just as you get energy from supermarkets, oceanic lifeforms have to get energy from somewhere. In this guide we will explore how marine lifeforms get their energy.
The food chain ocean food chain can primarily be broken down as:
sunlight > phytoplankton > zooplankton > large organisms > large predators
phytoplankton are primary producers and use sunlight to produce food in a process known as photosynthesis.
What terrestrial organisms use photosynthesis?
Not all oceanic food chains follow the above model. What's an example of a food chain relationship that is different?
bacteria are also primary producers which break down chemicals in water to produce food in a process called chemosynthesis.
Just as with terrestrial food chains, ocean food chains contain decomposers which break up dead organisms. Where in the ocean are these decomposers most likely to be found?