THE ROLE OF FORAMINIFERA IN THE TROPHIC STRUCTURE OF MARINE COMMUNITIES |
| |
Authors: | JERE H LIPPS JAMES W VALENTINE |
| |
Institution: | Department of Geology and Institute of Ecology, University of California, Davis, California;Bodega Marine Laboratory, Bodega Bay, California |
| |
Abstract: | Foraminifera are recorded as feeding chiefly upon bacteria, small diatoms, and nannoplankton in a wide variety of marine environments. Thus their food items are usually below 50 μ and commonly below 25 μ in size. Predators upon Foraminifera range from highly specialized microcarnivores that feed largely on Foraminifera to less selective ones that include Foraminifera in a mixed diet and to generalized feeders that ingest Foraminifera along with much other material. Foraminifera thus form part of a key link in marine food chains, assimilating energy available from minute autotrophs and also retrieving energy available during the final stages of degradation of organic debris. In turn, they support a variety of larger organisms and thus contribute to the diversity and secondary productivity of ecosystems. |
| |
Keywords: | |
|
|