Introduction Oxygen is known for being essential for human respiration, but it is critical for all life. This includes marine life as well. Oxygen is delivered into marine ecosystems when it is dissolved in the water. Dissolved oxygen enters the ocean from the atmosphere and from photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process used by organisms to create their own food, by using water and carbon dioxide. Photosynthesis varies with solar radiation levels. Higher levels of photosynthesis are recorded during the day, than at night when there is little light and solar radiation. During photosynthesis, primary producers use energy from solar radiation to convert carbon dioxide into organic carbon. During this process water is spilt into oxygen gas. Since oxygen is a byproduct of photosynthesis it is often used a measurement of primary production.(Smith 2007 …show more content…
Gross primary productivity is the total organic matter resulted from photosynthesis. Respiration is the amount of oxygen consumed by primary producers. Net primary productivity is the organic matter produced during photosynthesis, that is available to other organisms for consumption. It is the goal of primary producers to maintain a positive net primary production, by keeping the gross primary production more than the rate of respiration. The purpose of this lab was to analyze the primary productivity of Frenchman’s Creek using gross primary productivity (GPP), respiration (R), net primary productivity (NPP), and the light/Dark bottle experiment. H0: There is no difference in average primary productivity with increasing depth. H1: There is a decreased average primary productivity with increasing