WHY IS PRIMARY PRODUCTION IMPORTANT?

Primary Production is food for the animals in the Bay.

• Microscopic algae are food for microscopic animal plankton.
• Animal plankton are food for small fish and animals (clams, worms, crabs).
• Small fish and animals are eaten by larger and larger fish, by birds, or by humans.
  

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Primary Production controls fisheries yield.

Scientists measure primary production and the amount of animals in a system in terms of carbon.

The capacity of aquatic systems like estuaries to sustain animal populations is set, in part, by the rate phytoplankton produce new plant matter.

WHAT IS IT?	WHO DOES IT?	WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?	WHAT ARE PATTERNS?	HOW MUCH?	CONCLUSIONS
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The URL of this page is http://sfbay.wr.usgs.gov/access/ColeCloern/WhyImprtnt.html
Pages created and maintained by Laura Zink Torresan
Last modified: 2 April 1997