Zooplankton Grazing

Question

Zooplankton grazing
A) Is not required for a Spring diatom increase to end
B) May produce alternate areas of abundant and less abundant phytoplankton
C) Can fail to increase beyond an upper limit of phytoplankton cell concentration
D) All of the above

Accepted Answer

All of the choices provided are correct in the context of zooplankton grazing. Zooplankton grazing does not necessarily need to occur for a spring diatom bloom to end, as other factors like nutrient depletion can also cause the bloom to cease. Zooplankton grazing can create patchiness in phytoplankton distribution, leading to areas of abundance and scarcity. Additionally, there is a limit to how much zooplankton can consume, meaning that beyond a certain concentration of phytoplankton, zooplankton grazing may not effectively control phytoplankton populations.