Plankton Flashcards
Define planktonic
Wandering, that which is caused to wander.
Define plankton
Living organisms which drift in the pelagic zones of oceans and bodies of freshwater.
Why are plankton diverse?
There are a wide range of sizes and taxonomic groups.
What are the two broad functional groups of plankton?
Phytoplankton
Zooplankton
What are the features of phytoplankton?
-Predominantly autotrophic (photosynthetic)
-Prokaryotic or eukaryotic algae
-Base of aquatic food chains
What are the features of zooplankton?
-heterotrophic unicellular/multicellular organisms
-transfer energy from phytoplankton to higher trophic levels
What are holoplankton?
Organisms that spend their entire life cycles in the plankton
What are mecroplankton?
Organisms that only spend part of their life cycles in the plankton
What are examples of Megaplankton?
Jellyfish, Ctenophores
Plankton that are >20mm - 2m
What are examples of Macroplankton?
Fish larvae, krill
2-20 mm
What are examples of Mesoplankton?
Copepods, fish eggs
0.2-2mm
What are examples of Microplankton?
Rotifera
20-200um
What are examples of Nanoplankton?
Diatoms, dinoflagellates
2-20um
What are examples of pictoplankton?
Cyanobacteria
0.2-2um
What is an example of Femtoplankton?
Marine viruses
<0.2um
What are the plankton collection methods?
-Bottles
-Pumps
-Nets