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Freshwater phytoplankton is the phytoplankton occurring in freshwater ecosystems. [1] It can be distinguished between limnoplankton (lake phytoplankton), heleoplankton (phytoplankton in ponds), and potamoplankton (river phytoplankton). [2] [3] They differ in size as the environment around them changes. They are affected negatively by the change ...
Phytoplankton (/ ˌ f aɪ t oʊ ˈ p l æ ŋ k t ə n /) are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems.The name comes from the Greek words φυτόν (phyton), meaning 'plant', and πλαγκτός (planktos), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'.
They are phytoplankton typically found in freshwater and marine systems, living in both the water column and sediment. [1] They are unicellular species which exist individually, or in chains or groups. Depending on the species, their sizes can range from a few micrometers (μm) to a few hundred micrometers.
A planktivore is an aquatic organism that feeds on planktonic food, including zooplankton and phytoplankton. [1] [2] Planktivorous organisms encompass a range of some of the planet's smallest to largest multicellular animals in both the present day and in the past billion years; basking sharks and copepods are just two examples of giant and microscopic organisms that feed upon plankton.
Phytoplankton can also maintain their presence in the water column by being circulated in Langmuir rotations. [3] Periphytic algae, on the other hand, are attached to a substrate. In lakes and ponds, they can cover all benthic surfaces. Both types of plankton are important as food sources and as oxygen providers. [2]
Marine plankton include bacteria, archaea, algae, protozoa, microscopic fungi, [4] and drifting or floating animals that inhabit the saltwater of oceans and the brackish waters of estuaries. Freshwater plankton are similar to marine plankton, but are found in lakes and rivers.
Mycoplankton are saprotrophic members of the plankton communities of marine and freshwater ecosystems. [1] [2] They are composed of filamentous free-living fungi and yeasts that are associated with planktonic particles or phytoplankton. [3]
Filamentous cyanobacteria growing on an underwater surface. Phytobenthos (/. f aɪ t oʊ ˈ b ɛ n θ ɒ s /) (from Greek φυτόν (phyton, meaning "plants") and βένθος (benthos, meaning "depths") are autotrophic organisms found attached to bottom surfaces of aquatic environments, such as rocks, sediments, or even other organisms.