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The Mediterranean Sea pp 113–121Cite as

The Mediterranean Sea – Primary Productivity

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Abstract

Primary production, the production of organic carbon molecules from carbon dioxide and water by converting sunlight energy to chemical energy through the process of photosynthesis, is the basis of our biosphere. The total Mediterranean Sea primary productivity is 1 % of the global primary productivity (Uitz et al., 2010). The entire Mediterranean Sea as a large marine ecosystem (LME) is characterized as a low-productivity ecosystem, <150 gC m−2 year−1 and, as such, is considered a Class III ecosystem (Aquarone et al., 2009). Based on Nixon’s (1995) definition, it is a mesotrophic sea, yet many parts of this LME are oligotrophic, and the Levantine Basin (eastern Mediterranean) is even ultraoligotrophic. Global and local abiotic fluctuations cause variation in the primary-producer communities and their ability to photosynthesize, thus leading to modification of the food web.

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  1. The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 52900, Israel

    Noga Stambler

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  1. Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Stefano Goffredo

  2. Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel

    Zvy Dubinsky

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Stambler, N. (2014). The Mediterranean Sea – Primary Productivity. In: Goffredo, S., Dubinsky, Z. (eds) The Mediterranean Sea. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6704-1_7

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