Diatoms contribute to global oxygen production, marine food webs, and carbon sequestration, but scientists predict that diatom populations will decline due to ocean acidification associated with climate change.
food webs
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Algal Mats May Be a Key to the Arctic Food Web
Melt ponds in sea ice have thriving algal communities with startlingly high levels of photosynthetic activity.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Multicellular Algae Discovered in an Early Cambrian Formation
A new study describes eukaryotic organisms found organized in a cortex-medulla pattern in southern China’s Kuanchuanpu Formation.
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Finding Prehistoric Rain Forests by Studying Modern Mammals
Mammal teeth store a record of the plants they ate, providing clues about the ecosystems in which they lived.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
A Promising Development for Detecting Ocean Productivity
A comparison of primary productivity measurements across the North Pacific Ocean demonstrates the potential for using autonomous instruments to discern effects of climate change on the marine food web.
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A Subglacial Lake in Antarctica Churns Out Nutrients
Eight hundred meters below the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, microbes in subglacial Lake Whillans create organic carbon that helps power the Southern Ocean’s vast food chain.
Posted inScience Updates
Progress and Planning in Understanding Ocean Acidification
The 4th Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network (GOA-ON) International Workshop; Hangzhou, China, 14–17 April 2019
Posted inScience Updates
Sustainable Observations of Plankton, the Sea’s Food Foundation
Workshop on Developing an Implementation Plan for a Sustained, Multidisciplinary Global Observing System of Plankton Communities; Santa Cruz, California, 25–27 June 2018
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How Did Life Recover After Earth’s Worst-Ever Mass Extinction?
Ocean animals at the top of the food chain recovered first after a cataclysm at the end of the Permian period. The extinction was triggered by events resembling the changes brewing in today’s oceans.
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Nutrient-Rich Water Around Seamounts Lures Top Predators
At an Indian Ocean marine refuge, tides drive cold water laden with nutrients onto the tops of underwater mountains, where it sustains a long food chain that culminates in sharks, tuna, and seabirds.