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Diatoms
Diatoms are found in both freshwater and saltwater environments, where they act in a way very similar to plants. These single-celled organisms absorb carbon dioxide and sunlight, turning this into sugars that fuel the cell. Also like plants, they contain chlorophyll and release oxygen into the air and water as a byproduct of the process. In addition to replenishing the stores of oxygen in the water, diatoms are also a component in phytoplankton. Alone, diatoms are responsible for about 60 percent of the nutrient conversion that allows for life, while with other microscopic organisms they are a major food source for marine life, from fish to whales.
Cyanobacteria
Like diatoms, cyanobacteria use chlorophyll and photosynthesis to manufacture food from the nutrients in the water and the sunlight. While each individual cyanobacteria is microscopic, large colonies with millions and millions of individuals can commonly form; this larger grouping is known as blue-green algae. While this algae can present problems for fishermen, these organisms are in large part responsible for the processing of nitrogen into a form of nitrate usable by other plants and animals. Many of these bacteria are bluish-green, as suggested by their name. They do come in a number of different colors, however, and the pink bacteria are a major component in the diet of flamingos, giving the birds their distinctive coloring.
Dinoflagellates
Dinoflagellates are the double-edged sword of the marine environment. In regulated amounts, they are a major producer of nutrients and oxygen, as they are also capable of photosynthesis. When these organisms multiply out of control -- usually because of nutrient-rich or polluted waters -- they cause a phenomenon known as red tides. The water turns red, and the animals that consume the dinoflagellates can either be poisoned by the toxins created by them or pass the poisonous toxins onto the next creatures up the food chain. Fish and shellfish pulled from waters heavy with dinoflagellates can poison people who eat them.
Coccolithophorids
Coccolithophorids are a major part of what makes up phytoplankton. Most of these single-celled organisms are found in warm saltwater environments, where they perform photosynthesis to supply their own food and release waste products such as oxygen into the environment. These organisms, and others that belong to the same family but exist in smaller quantities, make up about 15 percent of the ocean's supply of phytoplankton, which is consumed by a variety of different marine life forms as large as blue whales. The outer covering of these coccolithophorids contains a form of calcium that is not only important in the diet of larger creatures but also contributes to the formation of coral reefs when dead coccolithophorids collect on the ocean floor.