Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 2.4
Salt marsh grasses contribute to primary production in the coastal and estuarine system
Fig. 2.5
Mangrove floral community constitutes the primary producer tier in the coastal and estuarine system
compounds from which the cell forms new mate-
rials. The synthesis of organic material by photo-
synthesis is termed primary production. Since
phytoplankton are the dominant producers in the
ocean, their role in the marine food chain is of
paramount importance. Approximately 4,000
species of marine phytoplankton have been
described and new species are continually being
added to this total (Lalli and Parsons
1997
).
Phytoplankton exhibit remarkable adaptations to
remain in
oating condition in the sea water. In
fact, all marine phytoplankton tend to stay in the
photic zone to utilize the solar radiation for per-
forming the process of photosynthesis. In order to
retard the process of sinking, this group of
organisms adopts various mechanisms. These
include their small size and general morphology,
as the ratio of cell surface area to volume
fl
