Question: What do plankton do for the enviorment?

Russell Arnott answered on 4 Mar 2019:

Plankton basically keep us alive so they’re really important to the environment and life on Earth!
First of all, as phytoplankton are tiny plants, they make oxygen from sunlight (like all plants do) but because the ocean is so big, phytoplankton make more oxygen than all of the plants on land. We think plankton make 80% of the oxygen we breathe.
Because they are plants, they also take carbon dioxide out of the air as they grow. Carbon dioxide is the gas that is causing climate change so plankton have actually helped our planet by removing some of this extra carbon dioxide.

Secondly, plankton are the base of 99.9% of marine food chains. Just like all food chains on land start with plants, most food chains in the ocean start with plankton. All animals that live in the sea wouldn’t be able to be alive with it. And if you like eating fish and chips, then you need to thank plankton too!

Finally, plankton produce a chemical that forms clouds! Clouds make it rain which waters plants on lands. No plankton, no clouds, no rain!

So they’re super important for the environment!