Transcript Planktonic Organisms

Planktonic Organisms
Introduction
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Plankton = Organisms that drift in
the water
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Characterized by size:
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Cannot move against the current
Pico-, nano-, micro-, macro- and
mega-plankton
Most abundant type of life on earth
Basis of the marine food web
Types of plankton
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“Plankton” describes a lifestyle,
not an ancestral relationship or
evolutionary connection
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The inability to swim is the only
feature common to all plankton.
Organisms may be:
Photosynthetic (phytoplankton)
 Chemosynthetic (bacteria)
 Heterotrophic (zooplankton)
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Phytoplankton
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Drift within the photic zone
Provide 40% of the food made by photosynthesis
on Earth
Main kinds:
Diatoms (Radiolaria)
 Dinoflagellates (symbiotic)
 Cyanophytes/Cyanobacteria
 Archaebacteria
 Coccolithophores
 Picoplankton
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Zooplankton
“Animal” plankton
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Nearly every major animal group is
represented
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Heterotrophs
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Most numerous consumers in the ocean
Graze on phytoplankton
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Two types:
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2.
Holoplankton
Meroplankton
Octopus adult
Octopus larva
Zooplankton Examples
Scale worm larva
Terebellid worm larva
Burrowing Anemone larva
Copepod Candacia
Mantis shrimp larva
Holoplankton
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Organism that spends its entire life as plankton
Examples: krill, copepods, some sea snails &
slugs, jellyfish and some marine worms.
Rhizostome jellyfish
Sea Butterfly, Pteropod
Planktonic Polychaete worm
Meroplankton
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Organism that only spends the larval stages as
plankton
Examples: sea urchins, starfish, sea squirts,
crustaceans, octopus, marine worms, and most
reef fishes.
Starfish adult
Anemone larva
Starfish larva
Anemone adult
Crustaceans
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Most abundant kind of meroplankton
Examples: lobsters, crabs, prawns, pill bugs,
krill, barnacles, water fleas, and brine shrimp
(sea monkeys)
Mantis Shrimp
Lobster Metamorphosis
Larva
Larva
Juvenile
Juvenile
Adult
Adult
Staying Afloat
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Buoyancy = ability to
stay afloat
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Swim bladder
Store lipids
Increase surface
area/water resistance
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Flat shape
Form chains
Projections or spines
Bioluminescence
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Light produced by some organisms
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May be produced by symbiotic
bacteria or enzymes
Uses:
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Dinoflagellates
communication
luring prey
Camouflage
Escaping from predators
Blue, green, or red
Brightness can be controlled, base
on surroundings
Video Notes: Deep Ocean
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Number your paper from 1-20
Write down 20 facts/examples from the video.