What is the Antarctic food web?

Antarctica supports a wide range of organisms from algae to large animals. All these organisms are interconnected within a food web and rely on each other for survival. A wide range of plants and animals live in Antarctica….Decomposers.

What is the Antarctic ecosystem?

Antarctica is a polar desert. Terrestrial life is limited to the very small. There are no trees or shrubs, so vegetation is mainly mosses, lichens and algae. Springtails are one of the largest living terrestrial organisms – however, these invertebrates are only 1–3 mm in length!

What type of food do they eat in Antarctica?

By far the most popular food in Antarctica is seafood, and in particular shellfish. Since nearly all of the local population lives near the shores, and the continent itself is filled with streams, lakes and rivers throughout, the seafood you’ll be consuming will be extremely fresh.

What is the food web of the marine ecosystem?

Phytoplankton and algae form the bases of aquatic food webs. They are eaten by primary consumers like zooplankton, small fish, and crustaceans.

How is the food web in Antarctica different from other food webs?

The Antarctic Food Web is relatively simple compared to ecosystems in other parts of the world. There are fewer different species, but greater numbers of individuals of each. The second most numerous large mammal in the world (after man) is the crab-eater seal, an archetypal Antarctic animal.

What makes up most of the marine food web?

Because of this inversion, it is the zooplanktonthat make up most of the marine animal biomass. As primary consumers, zooplankton are the crucial link between the primary producers (mainly phytoplankton) and the rest of the marine food web (secondary consumers).

How is the ecosystem in Antarctica adapted to its environment?

The ecosystem of Antarctica has adapted to the harsh climatic conditions. These harsh conditions limit the complexity of the food web. On land, there are no trees or shrubs, and very few flowering plants. Mites and midges are at the bottom of the food chain (excluding the Antarctic sub-islands).

What makes most of the food in Antarctica?

These are the tiny (and not so tiny) animals that feed directly on the phytoplankton, In Antarctica they are often krill which provide the food for most of all the larger animals. Producer: An organism that produces food. Usually a green plant, anything from microscopic algae (as in phytoplankton) to a tree.