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This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 23 February 2025. Organisms living in water or air that are drifters on the current or wind This article is about the marine organisms. For other uses, see Plankton (disambiguation). Marine microplankton and mesoplankton Part of the contents of one dip of a hand net. The image contains diverse planktonic ...
Plankton are the building blocks of life in the sea. Everything depends on them. ... Most of these are considered macroplankton due to their size (from ¾ of an inch to 8 inches). Amphipods look a ...
However, there is a simpler scheme that categorizes plankton based on a logarithmic size scale: Macroplankton (200–2000 μm) Micro-plankton (20–200 μm) Nanoplankton (2–20 μm) This was even further expanded to include picoplankton (0.2–2 μm) and fem-toplankton (0.02–0.2 μm), as well as net plankton, ultraplankton.
Body size has been defined as a "master trait" for plankton as it is a morphological characteristic shared by organisms across taxonomy that characterises the functions performed by organisms in ecosystems. [9] [10] It has a paramount effect on growth, reproduction, feeding strategies and mortality. [11]
Phytoplankton (/ ˌ f aɪ t oʊ ˈ p l æ ŋ k t ə n /) are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems.The name comes from the Greek words φυτόν (phyton), meaning 'plant', and πλαγκτός (planktos), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'.
Aeroplankton (or aerial plankton) are tiny lifeforms that float and drift in the air, carried by wind.Most of the living things that make up aeroplankton are very small to microscopic in size, and many can be difficult to identify because of their tiny size.
With a typical size of 0.6 μm, Prochlorococcus was discovered only in 1988 [7] by two American researchers, Sallie W. (Penny) Chisholm (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and R.J. Olson (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution). In spite of its small size, this photosynthetic organism is undoubtedly the most abundant of the planet: indeed its ...
Planktology is the study of plankton, various small drifting plants, animals and microorganisms that inhabit bodies of water. Planktology topics include primary production, energy flow and the carbon cycle. Plankton drive the "biological pump", a process by which the ocean ecosystem transports carbon from the surface euphotic zone to