Photosynthesis in the Ocean

Part 1. See-Think-Wonder
Instructions: Look at the 3 pictures for 2 minutes.
Fill in the:
● column “See” with your observations of what you actually see in the pictures
● column “Think” with what each picture makes you think about for each ecosystem
● column “Wonder” with what you are wondering about, based on what you saw and thought
Ecosystem See Think Wonder

Antarctica The bottom looks pick This is the only picture I wonder what the foggy
and the top is foggy without fish so maybe the stuff on the top of the
and gross. water is too cold for them. water is.

Kelp Forest There is lots of fish and This seems to be a great What is the water
the kelp is very tall. The place for fish which means temperature because the
water is very clear. the water temperature must fish are thriving. What is
be good. the average height of the
kelp.

Coral Reef There is a lot of coral The coral is so happy which When and where was this
that is a bunch of means that the water is not photo taken because I
different colors. There supper acidic otherwise know that a lot of the big
is also some fish in the they wouldn be so bright coral reefs are struggling
background. and there wouldn't be so right now.
many.

Part 2. Abiotic and Biotic factors

Biotic = living things, was living, or comes from living things
Abiotic= not alive nor has it ever been alive
Instructions: Fill in the following chart based on the 3 pictures above and the definitions.
Abiotic factors (Non-living) Biotic factors (living)

● Rocks ● Coral
 ● Water ● Fish
● Ice ● Algae
● Oxygen ● Human
● Temperature

Part 3. Photosynthesis and the ocean

Take a deep breath. You just inhaled oxygen, along with other gasses. Where did this oxygen come from?
Organisms such as plants, trees, algae, kelp and phytoplankton create oxygen when they make their own food
in a process called photosynthesis. Photosynthesis involves taking energy from the sun, along with carbon
dioxide and water to create a chemical reaction. The products of this reaction are oxygen and glucose (food).
Organisms that make their own food through photosynthesis, such as kelp, phytoplankton and plants, are
called producers because they produce their own food. The phytoplankton are tiny plant-like organisms that
are the basis of most food webs in the ocean.

Producers contain chlorophyll, which helps them gather energy from the sun. Ocean producers, such as
phytoplankton, also get nutrients from upwelling that occurs in the ocean.
Upwelling is when warmer water on the surface of the ocean is moved by
the wind. Then nutrient rich cold water moves up from the deep ocean
towards the surface.
The oxygen that is released from producers during photosynthesis helps
sustain life on Earth. Without oxygen, we would not be able to survive.
Did you know that we get over half of our oxygen from the ocean?
Photosynthesizing organisms in the ocean, such as kelp, algae, marine
plants, and phytoplankton, are also important to consider when thinking
about the effects of ocean acidification, which is the increase in carbon
dioxide uptake in our ocean. How will these producers be affected by
increasing carbon dioxide levels in the ocean?

Ocean acidification = ongoing decrease in the pH level of seawater as carbon dioxide is absorbed by Earth’s
ocean.
Instructions: Based on the above reading and definition, answer the following questions:
❖ Where does most of our oxygen come from?
Over half of the world's oxygen comes from the oceans.
❖ What are examples of producers in the ocean?
Phytoplankton, kelp and plants.
❖ Below, insert a picture of photosynthesis in the ocean and label it with the words: carbon dioxide,
sunlight, water, oxygen and glucose.

Part 4. Comparing pH levels in different ocean ecosystems

Instructions: The 3 graphs represent actual pH data collected from 3 different ecosystems, temperate, tropical
and polar. This is called time-series data. Answer the questions below:

1. What do the X and Y axes represent?

a. X axes _Dates that the data was recorded (Time)__
b. Y axes _The pH of the water__
2. The Y axis is the same across all three graphs and the X is different for each graph. What does this
mean? _The graphs are showing pH ranges for different ecosystems at variety time intervals.__
3. What is the range for the Y axis (pH units)? _7.5-8.3__
4. What is the range for the X axis (number of days)? __From 2 weeks to 6 months._
5. How might different times or seasons of the year affect the pH levels of that ecosystem? _When there
is different amounts of sunlight different amounts of photosynthesis for example when there is more
sunlight photosynthesis takes place more.__
 6. Do you think the time of day impacts what the observed pH was? Why? _Yes because the sunlight in
the day time impacts how much photosynthesis is taking place. If it's dark plants will not perform
photosynthesis.__
Graph interpretation
7. What is the range of pH for each ecosystem? You can use a ruler to estimate
a. Antarctica _7.9-8.3__
b. Kelp forest _7.6-8.2__
c. Coral reef _8.1-8.2__
8. How do the graphs differ numerically (ranges of pH, highest and lowest values)? __The coral reef pH
does not fluctuate very much whereas the kelp forest ph range goes up and down._
9. Which ecosystem has the biggest shift in pH? _Kelp forest__
10. Which ecosystem has the most regular, or repeatable, pH level? _Coral Reef__

Part 5. Mystery graph

These graphs are from the same location. The graph on the left is for pH, and the graph on the right is for
temperature.

1. Describe the pH variability on the mystery graph (pH range, pH max, etc.).
_7.75-8.15__
2. Describe temperature variability on the mystery graph (temperature range, maximum temperature,
etc.). _11.5-15.5 degrees celcius__
3. Hypothesize which ecosystem these pH data came from and describe the evidence behind your
reasoning _Kelp forest because it is the right temperature, and the pH is very similar to the one in the
Kelp forest. Also the waves that go up and down on the graph are similar to the kelp forest data
above.__
4. What could be the biotic and abiotic sources of pH variation in this graph? Explain your reasoning
_The amount of producers(Algae plankton, kelp) because they photosynthesis taking in Carbon
dioxide, and sunlight. Since Photosynthesis takes in Co2 there will be less to acidify the ocean. __