Chapter 53 - The Physical Environment and Biogeography of Life - 53.4 - Biogeography Is the Study of How Organisms Are Distributed on Earth - 53.4 Recap - Learning Outcomes - Page 1161: 1

Since photosynthetic phytoplankton and plants are the major primary producers of the world's oceans, the amount of light received by these organisms directly correlates to the diversity of the rest of the organisms in the marine food web. In the photic zone, which receives ample amounts of sunlight, kelp makes use of light energy to dominate the landscape. However, this isn't the case in the aphotic and abysmal zones, which may depend on chemoautotrophs near hydrothermal vents to provide a basis for the food web.

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