1. Plankton “To Drift”

2. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Classification of Marine Organisms Plankton (floaters) Nekton (swimmers) Benthos (bottom dwellers)

3. Plankton Net

4. Size Distribution

6. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Types of Plankton Most biomass on Earth consists of plankton. Phytoplankton – Autotrophic Zooplankton – Heterotrophic

7. PHYTOPLANKTON “plant plankton” Photosynthetic The very base of the food chain…

8. Fnft: A micrograph of pelagic diatoms

9. Types of Phytoplankton Diatoms: dominant and most productive – 2 close fitting halves (valves)

11. Diatom (chain) diatom

12. Types of Phytoplankton Dinoflagellates – Whip-like projections (flagella) – Able to adjust orientation and vertical position in water column – Several are bioluminescent – “Red tides”

13. Dinoflagellates

14. Ceratium A Dinoflaggelate “Phytoplankton”

15. Bioluminescence

16. Types of Phytoplankton Coccolithphores – Discs of calcium carbonate – Can build seabed deposits of ooze

18. ZOOPLANKTON “animal plankton” NOT Photosynthetic – but “herbivores” and “carnivores” instead They FEED ON the very base of the food chain (phytoplankton)

19. Types of Zooplankton Copepod: 70% of all zooplankton Krill: shrimp-like crustacean – Major part of food chain in Antarctic region

22. Meroplankton: temporary plankton

23. They aren’t always “small!” Some large gelatinous zooplankton: (c) A colony of salps (Pegea) cloned from a single parent. © Eric Prine/age fotostock

24. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Avoiding Sinking Ability to float – Zooplankton – some produce fats or oils to stay afloat – Phytoplankton-different “shapes” of their tests

25. Marine Algae Brown Algae: kelp, sargassum (algin-thinkening agent) Red Algae: most of world’s seaweed Green Algae

26. Larger Marine Producers Seaweed (multicellular algae): – Holdfasts: root-like structure that anchors to seabed – Gas bladders: allow for buoyancy (reach sunlit areas)

29. Larger Marine Producers Sea Grasses: – Form submerged meadows – Life cycle similar to flowering land plants (pollen)

30. Larger Marine Producers Mangroves: trees that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats (tropics and subtropics) – Roots avoid taking up salt or selectively remove salts from sap