What is the function of diatoms?

What is the function of diatoms?

Diatoms are unicellular eukaryotic microalgae that play important ecological roles on a global scale. Diatoms are responsible for 20% of global carbon fixation and 40% of marine primary productivity. Thus they are major contributors to climate change processes, and form a substantial basis of the marine food web.

What is the role of diatoms in any food chain?

Diatoms feed the oceans, lakes and rivers Diatoms produce long-chain fatty acids. Diatoms are an important source of these energy rich molecules that are food for the entire food web, from zooplankton to aquatic insects to fish to whales.

What is a diatom and what does it do?

A diatom is a photosynthetic, single celled organism which means they manufacture their own food in the same way plants do. They are a major group of algae and form one of the most common forms of phytoplankton and join the myriad of organisms that drift on currents in the upper layers of the ocean and lakes.

Are diatoms multicellular?

Algae are a very diverse group of simple, nucleated, plant-like aquatic organisms that are primary producers. Algae exist either as single cells or as multicellular organizations. Diatoms are microscopic, single-celled algae that have intricate glass-like outer cell walls partially composed of silicon.

Is diatom a decomposer?

The food-chain includes the producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer and decomposers. Diatoms are a major group of algae, and are among the most common types of phytoplankton so are the producers, crustacean belongs to primary consumer, fish is secondary consumer, seal is tertiary and bacteria are decomposers.

Is diatom a plant or animal?

Diatoms are an enigma. Neither plant nor animal, they share biochemical features of both. Though simple single-celled algae, they are covered with elegant casings sculpted from silica.

What kind of microscope do you need to see diatoms?

Brightfield and phase contrast microscopy can be used for observing diatoms. Here, phase contrast is particularly preferred when viewing specimens that are lightly silicified. For a dry specimen, 40X and 100X are commonly used.