plankton n : the aggregate of small plant and animal organisms that float or drift in great numbers in fresh or salt water

English

Etymology

From the Greek adjective πλαγκτός ("wanderer" and "drifter").

Noun

1. a generic term for all the microorganisms that float in the sea.

Related terms

• phytoplankton
• zooplankton

Translations

• Chinese: 浮游生物 (fúyóu shēngwù)
• Finnish: plankton, keijusto
• German: Plankton
• Greek: πλαγκτόν [plaˈŋkto̞n]
• Indonesian: plankton
• Interlingua: plancton
• Japanese: プランクトン (purankuton)
• Norwegian: plankton
• Spanish: plancton
• Swedish: plankton

See also

• Wikipedia article on plankton

This article is about the marine organisms. For the SpongeBob SquarePants character, see Plankton (SpongeBob SquarePants)

|- | Macroplankton || 2×10-2→2×10-1 m || (2-20 cm) || metazoans; e.g. pteropods; chaetognaths |- | Mesoplankton || 2×10-4→2×10-2 m || (0.2 mm-2 cm) || metazoans; e.g. copepods |- | Microplankton || 2×10-5→2×10-4 m || (20-200 µm) || large eukaryotic protists; juvenile/small metazoans |- | Nanoplankton || 2×10-6→2×10-5 m || (2-20 µm) || small eukaryotic protists |- | Picoplankton || 2×10-7→2×10-6 m || (0.2-2 µm) || small eukaryotic protists; bacteria |- | Femtoplankton || < 2×10-7 m || (< 0.2 µm) || marine viruses |- |}

However, some of these terms may be used with very different boundaries, especially on the larger end of the scale. The existence and importance of nano- and even smaller plankton was only discovered during the 1980s, but they are thought to make up the largest proportion of all plankton in number and diversity.

Distribution

• Iron fertilization
• Nekton
• Ocean acidification
• Paradox of the plankton
• Primary production

References

External links

• Plankton*Net, taxonomic database of images of plankton species

Iceland moss, Irish moss, Loch Ness monster, alevin, benthon, benthos, brown algae, cetacean, conferva, dolphin, dulse, fingerling, fish, fry, fucoid, fucus, game fish, green algae, grilse, gulfweed, kelp, kipper, lichen, man-eater, man-eating shark, marine animal, minnow, minny, nekton, panfish, phytoplankton, pond scum, porpoise, red algae, reindeer moss, rockweed, salmon, sargasso, sargassum, scum, sea monster, sea moss, sea pig, sea serpent, sea snake, sea wrack, seaweed, shark, smolt, sponge, tropical fish, whale, wrack