Table of Contents
Learn What Plankton Eat
Ecologically significant drifting organisms called plankton are the base food of the food chain. They are essential for overall organisms found in the ocean as well as indirectly benefiting the land animals. Plankton is found drifting afloat on the upper level of the ocean for utilizing the sunlight.
Now you may be wondering why they need the sunlight. The reason why they need sunlight is to create their food with the process of photosynthesis. The plankton can’t swim, but they need food to grow. Hence, plankton is divided into two types – phytoplankton and zooplankton.
The plantlike phytoplankton are microscopic organisms that make their food by utilizing light and carbon dioxide. On the other hand, animals like zooplankton consume phytoplankton. This food chain continues to provide food for overall organisms in the oceans. In this post, we’ll look at “What do plankton eat” more specifically to learn about their particular diet.
Insects, fish, and Animals
Plankton is responsible for being the largest oxygen producer in the ocean. The diet of plankton or more specifically phytoplankton consists of natural molecules found in nature. Since they can’t move or swim, phytoplankton consumes the sun’s energy, utilizes carbon dioxide, and takes nutrients from the water.
As a result of this food production, plankton releases oxygen into the environment. This makes you think about how beneficial plankton is. And if you remember taking the biology class in your school, you’d remember this equation of photosynthesis.
Hence, plankton eats light and plastic. Because zooplankton is a type of plankton, plankton eats phytoplankton and bacteria. Plankton don’t eat insects, fish, or other aquatic creatures if they are phytoplankton. However, zooplankton (the other kind of plankton) can feed on a variety of small animal matter.
Fruit, Vegetables, and Plants
The other kind of plankton called zooplankton can’t swim, but they can feed on other food sources. Particularly, their other food sources also rely on plankton. In simple terms, zooplankton consumes phytoplankton. Hence, plankton eats plants and algae. Plankton can’t eat fruit, grass, vegetables, or any other species of plants.
How do plankton eat?
Plankton requires essential components to produce their food. While phytoplankton utilize water, carbon dioxide, the energy of the sun, zooplanktons are the filter feeders. Animal-like plankton would consume the drifting plankton and bacteria as well. That way, they can be consumed by other larger aquatic creatures in the water.
How much does plankton eat?
Plankton eat as much as they can whenever they are in the need of food. As for the zooplankton, they consume food when it drifts their way in their surroundings.
What plankton don’t eat?
Based on their particular diet, plankton consumes light, other compounds as well as microscopic algae. However, they don’t consume a variety of different things found in the ocean. Plankton don’t eat seaweed, coral, grass, seagrass, fungi, moss, lichen, and trees. Apart from these, plankton don’t eat shrimp, fish, dead fish, tuna fish, insects, starfish, seahorses, sea stars, tuna, or whales.
