In deep sea hydrothermal vents, chemosynthetic archaea form the base of the food chain.
Phytoplankton: Primary Producers = diatoms, coccolithophores, cyanobacteria especially synechococcus and prochlorococcus, and dinoflagellates.
The phytoplankton are eaten by the smallest floating animals, the zooplankton. They range in size from single-celled organisms to larger multi-celled organisms. Small zooplankton are eaten by larger zooplankton.
Zooplankton are eaten by small predators = Shrimp and krill, immature stages of larger animals such as jellyfish and fish and small fish such as sardines, menhaden, and herring.
Top Predators
The top trophic level includes
Jellyfish and cephalopods (squid and octopus).
Large fish such as sharks, tuna, and mackerel.
Marine mammals including seals, walruses, dolphins, and some species of whales (some eat fish, others eat zooplankton directly).
Birds such as pelicans, albatross, penguins, and skua.
People, the dominant top predator.
Although most seabirds choose nesting sites inaccessible to land predators, no places are free from predators looking for a meal. Typically, seabirds are ready to defend themselves from airborne predators — eagles, falcons, ravens. Some seabirds (gulls and jaegers) turn to robbing other seabirds of food being carried to a chick or they steal an uncovered egg or grab a tiny chick.
Mammalian threats include introduced red fox and arctic fox as well as rats. These animals prey mainly on eggs or young birds.
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Trophic level 4 a Top Predator
In deep sea hydrothermal vents, chemosynthetic archaea form the base of the food chain.
Phytoplankton: Primary Producers = diatoms, coccolithophores, cyanobacteria especially synechococcus and prochlorococcus, and dinoflagellates.
The phytoplankton are eaten by the smallest floating animals, the zooplankton. They range in size from single-celled organisms to larger multi-celled organisms. Small zooplankton are eaten by larger zooplankton.
Zooplankton are eaten by small predators = Shrimp and krill, immature stages of larger animals such as jellyfish and fish and small fish such as sardines, menhaden, and herring.
Top Predators
The top trophic level includes
Jellyfish and cephalopods (squid and octopus).
Large fish such as sharks, tuna, and mackerel.
Marine mammals including seals, walruses, dolphins, and some species of whales (some eat fish, others eat zooplankton directly).
Birds such as pelicans, albatross, penguins, and skua.
People, the dominant top predator.
Although most seabirds choose nesting sites inaccessible to land predators, no places are free from predators looking for a meal. Typically, seabirds are ready to defend themselves from airborne predators — eagles, falcons, ravens. Some seabirds (gulls and jaegers) turn to robbing other seabirds of food being carried to a chick or they steal an uncovered egg or grab a tiny chick.
Mammalian threats include introduced red fox and arctic fox as well as rats. These animals prey mainly on eggs or young birds.
David Hutchings PhDs in Zoology and Pathology