	community	directory	books	authors	images	encyclopedia

Email:
Password:
Register

Knowledgerush Search

Message boards Post comment

Plankton

Plankton are the aggregate community of weakly swimming or drifting microorganisms that inhabit all depths of the ocean and bodies of freshwater, and whose study is termed planktology. The name comes from the Greek language

- term for "wanderer" or "drifter". While some forms of plankton can move several hundreds of meters vertically in a single day (a behavior called diel vertical migration), their horizontal position is controlled mainly by the currents in the body of water they inhabit. Larger organisms such as squid, fish and marine mammals that can control their horizontal movement and swim against the mean flow of their environment are called nekton. Most planktons will be consumed by many aquatic species, such as fish, marine mammals, bryozoans, and so on.

Plankton are divided into two classes:

Phytoplankton (Greek phyton, "plant") are small algae and fungi. They obtain energy by photosynthesis, and live mostly on near the water surface because they need light to survive.
Zooplankton (Greek zoo: "animal") are small protozoa, crustaceans, copepods, krill, etc. and the eggs and larvae from larger animals.

Plankton concentration and distribution is very sensitive to chemical and physical changes in the sea water.

Photomontage. See also larger images.
Hyperiid amphipod, Hyperia macrocephala, ca. 20mm long

Copepod (Calanoida), ca. 1-2mm long

See also: algal bloom, domoic acid

External Links

http://www.umassd.edu/Public/People/Kamaral/thesis/plankton.html
http://clab.cecil.cc.md.us/faculty/biology/Chesapeake/plankton.html
http://www.ecoscope.com/ocean/index.htm

Referenced By

Famous pairs | List of famous pairs

Compose Your Message

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Plankton".