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Plankton are microscopic organisms drifting or floating in the sea that produce their own food using photosynthesis. Because of this, they are considers as producers and are at the bottom of the food chain

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Algae is a photosynthetic, eukaryotic organism that produces its own food and therefore is a producer.

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Small Fish in the Mediterranean eat produers like phytoplankton and algae. This makes them primary consumers, especially because other larger organisms consume them.

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Mussels consume phytoplankton, a producer, making them a primary consumer.

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Mediterranean Green Crab - secondary consumer

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This crab is one of many types of crab in the Mediterranean Sea and it eats primary consumers such as mollusks and mussels, making it a secondary consumer.

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The octopus is considered a secondary consumer because it eats primary consumers such as small fish.

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Mediterranean Monk Seal - tertiary consumer

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This seal is considered a tertiary consumer because it is at the top of the food chain and has no natural predators. It also eats secondary consumers.

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Different types of fungi in the Mediterranean Sea decompose dead organsim matter as a way to make energy. This makes them decomposers

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Producers are organisms that make their own food; they are also known as autotrophs. They make own their own food through the process of photosynthesis which utilizes sunlight, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. They have the most energy out of the trophic levels and are at the bottom of the food chain

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A primary consumer is an organism that eats plants and provides the energy needed for other types of consumers to use. They cannot make their own food and therefore eat plants/photosynthesizing organisms

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Secondary consumers are those that predate upon primary consumers. They are either carnivores (which eat meat) or omnivores (which eat a mixture of plants and meat). Some secondary consumers can also be placed in the primary consumer trophic level due to the fact that they are omnivores and also eat plants along with meat.

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Tertiary consumers are animals that consume other animals to obtain nutrition from them. They are at the highest level of the food chain and have no natural predators. This trophi level also has the lowest level of energy, meaning they often have to eat more.

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A decomposer is an organism, especially a soil bacterium, fungus, or invertebrate, that decomposes dead organic material.

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What is the underwater climate of your marine ecosystem?  Describe water temperature, salinity, movement, depth, and color. Include how much sunlight it receives each day and whether it is connected to a freshwater source.

i. The ecosystem is salt water and has high levels of salinity

ii. It has cool wet winters and dry hot summers. The hot summers cause algae blooms where algae can grow out of control. This can cause some issues for other plant and animal life. Upwelling occurs in the Western Meditteranean Sea during the spring and early summer months. This causes more nutrients for organisms, especially producers which allows for more food for the primary consumers that eat them. During the summer months when it is hotter and water evaporates quicker, the salinity increases as well. The seasonal change in salinity causes changes in behavior patterns for a lot of animals and can even decrease the level of reproduction and well as possibility for survival

iii.

Phytoplankton: Photic Zone

Algae: Photic Zone

Small Fish: Photic Zone

Mussels: Photic Zone
Mediterranean Green Crab: Photic Zone

Common Octopus: Twilight Zone

Mediterranean Monk Seal: Photic Zone

Fungi: Photic and Twilight Zone

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What would happen to the food web if all of the primary consumers became extinct?  Explain and give examples.

If the primary consumers all went extinct, then secondary consumers would start to have a lot of population decrease, which would cause tertiary consumers to die out as well. This basically means that secondary and tertiary consumers would also become extinct. Also, due to the lack of primary consumers to eat the producers, the amount of producers would rapidly increase.

For example, if small fish and mussels went extinct, the phtyoplankton and algae population would drastically increase. Without any small fish or mussels to feed on, green crabs and octopi would die out due to starvation, and the monk seal would also be left without a source of food.

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What would happen if all of the decomposers were removed? Explain and give examples.

If all the decomposers were removed from the Mediterranean Sea, there would be dead plant and animal matter floating everywhere in the sea. This is because with out anything to decompose and basically get rid of this dead matter, it will just float around and make the sea gross.

For example, if the fungi in the Mediterranean Sea all disappeared for some reason, dead plant matter and dead animal matter will just pollute the sea instead of naturally decomposing.