CommonName

LatinName

NutritionType

Niche

KillerWhale

Orcinusorca

Consumer
(Tertiaryor
Quaternary)

Killerwhaleseatbigmarineanimals,andhelpregulatethefoodchainsothat
speciesdonotgrowtooabundant.Whalefecesfeedsphytoplanktonthat
extractcarbonfromtheair,reducingcarbonintheatmosphere.Deadwhale
bodiesintheoceanalsocreatehabitatsformarinelife.

Phytoplankton

Planktos

Producer
(Autotroph)

Phytoplanktonusephotosynthesisfornourishment.Theyarethemain
producersintheaquaticecosystem,andarethebeginningofalmostallfood
chains.Theyalsoregulatecarbonintheatmosphere.Somearedeadly,and
spreaddisease.Theycancreatebiotoxinsthatcankillmassquantitiesof
marinelife.

BlackMantaRay

MantaAlfredi

Consumer
(Secondary)

TheMantaRayhelpstocontrolthepopulationofcrustaceansandplankton.
Theyvisitcleaningstationsunderwater,wherefish,andwrassespecies
cleantheirskin,gills,andteethofparasitesanddeadtissue.Manymanta
rayshavearemorafishstucktotheirundersidesthateatfoodmantaraysdo
notget.Thishelpstheremoragainnutrients.

SeaCucumber

Holothuroidea

Detritivore
(Decomposer)

SeaCucumberseatalgae,deadplantsandorganisms.Theycantakeoutall
oftheirorganstodistractpredators,whichfeedsotherorganisms.WhenSea
Cucumberseat,theytakeindecayingmatterandsand,butonlykeepthe
decayingmatter.Theyreleasethesand,cleaningandturningoverthe
oceanfloor.Seacucumbershavearelationshipwithpearlfishinwhichthe
fishhideintheendholeofaseacucumberandgainshelterfrompredators.

GreenAlgae

Chlorophyta

Producer
(Autotroph)

Algaeusessunlighttogrow.Itcreatesaround70%ofbreathableairand
feedsmanyfish.Largeralgaeprotectssomeorganismsandcreateshomes
forcreaturesontheseabed.Decomposingalgaeiseatenbysaprotrophs
anddetritivores,whichcreatesnutrientsforotheranimalssuchasworms
andclams.

BlueSeaStar

Linckia
laevigata

Detritivore
(Decomposer)

BlueSeaStarseatsponges,algae,anddecayingplankton.Theylivein
reefs,andcarryashellknownas
Thycacrystallina
whicheatfluidwithinthe
SeaStarcalledhemolymph.SeaStarsalsoeatmolluscs,whichmaintains
themolluscpopulation.Lastly,theyeatsomeclams,whichcreatesshellsfor
crabsandotheranimalstolivein.

Zooplankton

Planktos

Consumer
(Primary)

Zooplanktonaredriftingorganismsunderwaterlikekrillandcopepods.They
feedonPhytoplankton,andalsoeatmillionsofalgaeplantsthatwould
overgrowandcrowdtheseafloor.Theyareconsumedbyotherfish,andare
thebasisfornourishmentintheaquaticecosystem.

Rhizophydiales

Rhizophydiales

Saprotroph
(Decomposer)

Rhizophydiales
controlthepopulationofphytoplanktonintheocean.They
arealgaeparasites,controllingthealgaepopulation.Theyalsorecycle
nutrientsunderwater.

Green
Humphead
Parrotfish

Bolbometopon
muricatum

Consumer
(Primary)

HumpheadParrotFisheatalgaeandcoral.Undigestedcoralisreturnedto
theEarththroughtheirexcrement,whichisanimportantsediment.Thewhite
sandtheycreatefunctionsasaplaceforturtlestolaytheireggs.Theyalso
helpecosystemsbecomemoreresilient,andshapethestructureofcoral.