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Net plankton excretes daily an amount of phosphorus nearly equal to its total phosphorus content. Slightly more than half of the excreted phosphorus is phosphate and the remainder is in soluble organic compounds. Phosphorus excreted by zooplankton may constitute a significant fraction of that required for photosynthesis by the phytoplankton.
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Pomeroy et al. (1963) studied this question.
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