Primary Producers

Photic Zone

need sunlight for photosynthesis

dissolved in sea water

need carbon dioxide and nutrients

continental shelf

need a substrate to attach to

algae

polyphyletic group of eukaryotic organisms that are photoautotrophic (do photosynthesis)

-major contributors to global biodiversity

unicellular

single cells with/ without flagellaco

colonial

several cells attached together

filamentous

cells forming chains

multicellular

more than one cell

marine

continental shelves or open sea (phytoplankton)

freshwater

streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds

terrestrial

on soil, walls, and snow, and as symbionts-partners collaborating togehter

chlorophyll

photosynthetic pigments