How Is It That the Open Ocean Produces the Highest

question 6

Multiple Choice

How is it that the open ocean produces the highest net primary productivity of Earth's ecosystems, yet net primary productivity per square meter is relatively low?

• A) Oceans contain greater concentrations of nutrients compared to other ecosystems.
• B) Oceans receive a lesser amount of solar energy per unit area.
• C) Oceans have the largest area of all the ecosystems on Earth.
• D) Ocean ecosystems have less species diversity.
• E) Oceanic producers are generally much smaller than oceanic consumers.