Transcript
What Do You Really Know About Plankton?
Name means: “Drifters” or “Wanderers”
So. . .are they autotrophs or heterotrophs?
They can be either one!
Autotrophs vs. HeterotrophsMost autotrophs use sunlight to make energy
Heterotrophs eat autotrophs and other heterotrophs to obtain energy
6 H20 + 6 CO2 +solar energy--> C6H12O6 + 6 O2
Who are the Marine Autotrophs?
Tiny marine plants called Phytoplankton– producers in the oceanic food web
Plankton
Different wavelengths penetrate to different depths, So notice that all wavelengths other than blue get absorbed in the water above 100 m
Where are Phytoplankton found?
Phytoplankton are found in the photic zone (upper part of the ocean)
Weird Phytoplankton Fact:Some phytoplankton can be very dangerous when they
“bloom” (reproduce rapidly)
PhytoplanktonDiatoms & Dinoflagellates
Silica-glassy case
Phytoplankton cont.
Diatoms -common in colder waters-silica based bodies (glassy) (siliceous)-when they die and sink, form Diatomaceous ooze
Dinoflagellates-common in warmer waters-two tails (why?)-some light up (bioluminescence)-some live symbiotically with corals (Zooxanthellae)-when they die and sink, form cysts and can cause harmful
algal blooms (HAB’s)
Who are the Marine Heterotrophs?
(Not always) tiny marine animals called Zooplankton–consumers in the oceanic food web
Reminder: Zooplankton are not always tiny, but they are drifters!
Typical Marine Food Web:
More Vocabulary
Plankton can be divided into lifestyles: 1)Meroplankton , which merely spend SOME of
their lives as driftersand
2) Holoplankton, which spend their WHOLE lives drifting
Guess what these Meroplankton “Grow Up” to be” and what they do when they’re done with the
“drifter” lifestyle
How do we “hunt” for plankton?
So is Plankton from Sponge Bob Zooplankton
or Phytoplankton?
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