1. Zooplankton

2. Zooplankton Animals and animal-like organisms that float and drift
Unicellular protists and multicellular (jellyfish)
Most are microscopic
Crab Larvae

3. Diversity Meroplankton Temporary
Embryos or larvae of fish, crabs, sponges, lobsters, clams, and other invertebrates
Mature and settle to bottom as adults
Slipper Lobster Larva

4. Diversity Permanent Zooplankton
Species that remain in the plankton population for whole life cycle
Foraminiferan (Foram)
Hole-bearing
Unicellular protist
Encased in calcium carbonate shell
Parts of cytoplasm flow out through holes to catch food
Dead organisms form chalk deposits (Cliffs of Dover)

5. Diversity Radiolarian Permanent Unicellular Cell wall of silica
Transparant
Long spines like spokes of a wheel for buoyancy and protection

6. Diversity Copepod Most numerous
Tiny, shrimp-like animal (size of a grain of sand)
Feeds on phytoplankton (diatoms)
Eaten by larger zooplankton, fish, and whales
Important link in many food chains
Copepod!

7. Sea Soup Plankton are tiny food particles suspended in the “soup”
Whales feed by straining food from water, called filter feeding
Krill (4-5 cm)
Shrimp like zooplankton
In Antarctic
Potential food source for humans

8. Sea Soup Plankton form the foundation of the marine food chain
Bottom dwelling mollusks (muscles, clams, oysters, scallops) filter feed on plankton
Clams
Cells inside have microscopic cilia that create a current through body

9. Protozoans Includes forams and radiolarians
Found on surface and in bottom sediments
Unicellular
Animal like
Kingdom Protista
Subdivided into 3 phyla:
Ciliophora
Zoomastigina
Sarcodina

10. Sarcodina Forams, radiolarians, and amoebas
Live on surface of substrates
Move and eat using psuedopods

11. Sensitivity Ability of an organism to respond to environmental stimuli
Vorticella
Responds to touch by contracting its stalk into a coil
Avoidance reaction to stimuli that may be harmful
Also contracts spontaneously

12. Reproduction Vorticella Paramecium Asexual reproduction
Binary fission – division of prokaryotic cell into 2 identical cells
Paramecium
Sexual reproduction
Conjugation
2 parent protozoans exchange parts of their micronuclei when they come in contact (exchange genetic material)
Increases genetic variation
Binary fission then occurs, but with unique offspring.