Fraction of phytoplankton (that contribute approximately half of the global productivity) mass out of total mass in photosynthetic organisms worldwide

Range <0.5 %
Organism Biosphere
Reference Kaplan A. Cyanophages: Starving the Host to Recruit Resources. Curr Biol. 2016 Jun 20 26(12):R511-R513. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.04.030 p.R511 left columnPubMed ID27326715
Comments P.R511 left column: "Although phytoplankton biomass is less than 0.5% of the total mass in photosynthetic organisms worldwide, they contribute approximately half of the global productivity due to their fast turnover, thus driving the aquatic food web and serving as a major sink of atmospheric CO2. The finding, over 25 years ago, that viruses are very abundant in the marine environment initiated intensive studies on their biological roles and interactions with hosts, including lysis and the demise of large-scale algal blooms and potential involvement in geochemical cycles [refs 1–6]."
Entered by Uri M
ID 113987