plankton
the aggregate of passively floating, drifting, or somewhat motile organisms occurring in a body of water, primarily comprising microscopic algae and protozoa.
Origin of plankton
1Other words from plankton
- plank·ton·ic [plangk-ton-ik], /plæŋkˈtɒn ɪk/, adjective
Words Nearby plankton
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use plankton in a sentence
These sensors can relay information about the concentration of plankton in the water, how much they are growing and respiring, the amount of oxygen they’re producing and carbon dioxide they’re uptaking.
These free-floating robots can monitor the health of our oceans | Charlotte Hu | August 18, 2021 | Popular-ScienceThe results for hydra and plankton extend Thompson’s analysis of whole organisms.
Andersen is now developing plankton simulator software based on the underlying physical ideas to provide estimates of plankton diversity and function under different ocean conditions.
At a glance, these xenobots might be mistaken for other microscopic aquatic animals — amoebas or plankton or Giardia parasites — swimming here and there with apparent agency.
As the fleas feed on plankton that consume algae, algae blooms begin to sprout up across a lake.
A spiky flea could ruin Midwestern ecosystems and kill native fish | By Abi Cole/Outdoor Life | February 17, 2021 | Popular-Science
Jellyfish eat the eggs and larvae of other species higher on the food chain, as well as the plankton that those larvae would eat.
Beware at the Beach, the Jellyfish Rule the Seas and It’s Our Fault | Lisa-ann Gershwin | June 20, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTplankton, those wily producers of every second breath of oxygen you breath, will be naked and vulnerable.
Both fish and plankton are consumed by humpback whales as well as by other predators.
Humpback Whales in Glacier Bay National Monument, Alaska | United States Department of Commerce, Marine Mammal CommissionBy autumn, plankton concentrations diminish as light and nutrient levels decrease.
Humpback Whales in Glacier Bay National Monument, Alaska | United States Department of Commerce, Marine Mammal CommissionThe same method is followed by the pretty radiolaria which live floating (as plankton) at various depths of the sea.
The Wonders of Life | Ernst HaeckelNine tenths of the species are marine; of these some are pelagic, and their transparent forms constitute a part of the plankton.
The Sea-beach at Ebb-tide | Augusta Foote ArnoldThe expedition made significant observations of the role of plankton in the biological utilization of ocean fallout.
Atoms, Nature, and Man | Neal O. Hines
British Dictionary definitions for plankton
/ (ˈplæŋktən) /
the organisms inhabiting the surface layer of a sea or lake, consisting of small drifting plants and animals, such as diatoms: Compare nekton
Origin of plankton
1Derived forms of plankton
- planktonic (plæŋkˈtɒnɪk), adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for plankton
[ plăngk′tən ]
Small organisms that float or drift in great numbers in bodies of salt or fresh water. Plankton is a primary food source for many animals, and consists of bacteria, protozoans, certain algae, cnidarians, tiny crustaceans such as copepods, and many other organisms. Compare benthos nekton.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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