Word: phytoplankton
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...average, says Dr. Weiss, an acre of sea grows nearly three times as much plant material as an acre of land. Nearly all sea-growing plants are microscopic phytoplankton (mainly diatoms and dinoflagellates) that form the broad base of a "food pyramid." They are eaten by slightly bigger zooplahkton, and these small grazers are processed in the stomachs of bigger and bigger carhivora. The food in the original plants diminishes by nine-tenths at each eating. So when a human fisherman catches a fine codfish, each pound of its flesh represents about 100,000 lbs. of plants that grew...
...phytoplankton is probably too small, but great whales gather the zooplankton, and man should be able to do the same. Dr. Weiss quotes a British opinion that two fishermen with suitable nets could catch about 600 Ibs. of zooplankton a day off the coast of Scotland. The stuff is a paste with a delicate shrimpy flavor...