0 microscopic plants that live in the ocean -- fitoplankton
Phytoplankton drift with the currents.
They were part of a complex trophic web of the time including primary producers (phytoplankton) and primary to tertiary consumers (zooplankton and filterfeeders, suspension and deposit feeders, and invertebrate predators).
The approach involves comparison with modern lake systems and phytoplankton productivity.
Increasing radiation slows the process of photosynthesis in phytoplankton in the oceans' surface layers.
The two northern lagoons tend to suffer from increasing nutrient loading and so have dense phytoplankton.
This supports the relatively rapid change in the taxonomic composition of phytoplankton caused by fluctuations of the chemocline.
They highlight the submergence of breeding colonies under raised sea levels, and also the reduction in phytoplankton populations as a consequence of warmer sea temperatures.
Other contributing factors may be a reduction in light due to greater phytoplankton in the -oodwater and possibly epiphytic algal growth on the submerged leaves.
The geographical extent of this biotope varied, dependent upon the efficiency of local upwelling conditions to provide nutrients for phytoplankton.
