tbs3135
eco photo4
I took this photo at Hugh Macrae park. The photo shows lots of tadpoles and algae. These tadpoles will eventually turn into frogs, some amphibians fully develop into frogs or toads within 6 weeks, where others can take up to 3 years to complete the process. Tadpoles play an important role in maintaining the structure and function of streams through their feeding habits and their interactions with other animals. Tadpoles also benefit microbes like algae and other aquatic animals by providing nutrients. During leaf litter breakdown, tadpoles and some other invertebrates might interact with each other to get nutrients. They act as both consumers and prey to other species and they help contribute to energy transfer within their habitats. Algae helps form the base of the ocean's/freshwater food web. Algae feeds smaller fish and crustaceans, which then feed larger species. This continues up the food chain to the largest predators and even humans, who eat algae and use certain varieties for many commercial and industrial purposes. The larger types of algae, which are consumed by fewer creatures than the smaller ones also contribute to the food web by decomposing and providing nutrients for soils and small organisms. Algae, mainly the small kind, play a significant role in the earth's climate. When cell tissues of these organisms are damaged, they release dimethylsulfonioproprionate (DMSP) (a gas important for the biogeochemical cycles of the earth). In seawater, DMSP breaks down to form dimethyl sulfide (DMS). When DMS spreads to the ocean's surface and diffuses into the air, it oxidizes as sulfate aerosols (which behave like cloud condensation nuclei). When water attaches to these nuclei, clouds form and create rain for the earth below. Since almost half the world's biogenic supply of sulfur is produced by DMS from the ocean, a loss of large populations of algae can have a substantial effect on the Earth's climate.
eco photo4
I took this photo at Hugh Macrae park. The photo shows lots of tadpoles and algae. These tadpoles will eventually turn into frogs, some amphibians fully develop into frogs or toads within 6 weeks, where others can take up to 3 years to complete the process. Tadpoles play an important role in maintaining the structure and function of streams through their feeding habits and their interactions with other animals. Tadpoles also benefit microbes like algae and other aquatic animals by providing nutrients. During leaf litter breakdown, tadpoles and some other invertebrates might interact with each other to get nutrients. They act as both consumers and prey to other species and they help contribute to energy transfer within their habitats. Algae helps form the base of the ocean's/freshwater food web. Algae feeds smaller fish and crustaceans, which then feed larger species. This continues up the food chain to the largest predators and even humans, who eat algae and use certain varieties for many commercial and industrial purposes. The larger types of algae, which are consumed by fewer creatures than the smaller ones also contribute to the food web by decomposing and providing nutrients for soils and small organisms. Algae, mainly the small kind, play a significant role in the earth's climate. When cell tissues of these organisms are damaged, they release dimethylsulfonioproprionate (DMSP) (a gas important for the biogeochemical cycles of the earth). In seawater, DMSP breaks down to form dimethyl sulfide (DMS). When DMS spreads to the ocean's surface and diffuses into the air, it oxidizes as sulfate aerosols (which behave like cloud condensation nuclei). When water attaches to these nuclei, clouds form and create rain for the earth below. Since almost half the world's biogenic supply of sulfur is produced by DMS from the ocean, a loss of large populations of algae can have a substantial effect on the Earth's climate.