alleryStart learning →Roughly what share of all photosynthesis on Earth is carried out by phytoplankton?
AAbout 75 percent
BAbout 10 percent
CAbout 2 percent
DAbout 40 percent
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. About 40 percent
1. Ocean ecosystems are the most common type on the planet.
2. The shallow ocean and the deep ocean surface hold enormous numbers of phytoplankton.
3. Those phytoplankton carry out about 40 percent of all photosynthesis on Earth.
4. That is why these environments matter so much to every aerobic organism.
5. The 75 percent figure is the share of the surface the oceans cover, not their share of photosynthesis.
_Source: OpenStax Biology 1e (CC BY 4.0), Chs 44 and 46, section 46.1 Ecology of Ecosystems_
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