Gulf of California Marine Food Web
Marine
Northwestern Mexico — between Baja California and mainland Mexico
Description
The Gulf of California, called the Sea of Cortez, was described by Jacques Cousteau as the world's aquarium. Nutrient upwelling supports extraordinary marine productivity from plankton to blue whales. The critically endangered vaquita porpoise, the world's rarest marine mammal, survives only in the upper gulf.
Trophic Pyramid
Level 5
Decomposers
Marine bacteria
Benthic crustaceans
Sea cucumbers
3 species
Level 4
Tertiary Consumers
Blue whale
Orca
Hammerhead shark
3 species
Level 3
Secondary Consumers
Humboldt squid
California sea lion
Brown pelican
3 species
Level 2
Primary Consumers
Sardines
Anchovies
Krill
3 species
Level 1
Producers
Diatoms
Dinoflagellates
Seagrass meadows
3 species
Apex Predators
Tertiary Consumers
Secondary Consumers
Primary Consumers
Producers
Key Interactions
- Upwelling brings deep nutrients to the surface, fueling phytoplankton blooms
- Blue whales aggregate in the gulf to feed on dense krill swarms
- Humboldt squid are voracious predators reaching 1.5 meters in mantle length
- Vaquita porpoises are incidentally caught in gillnets set for totoaba fish