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However, species of zooplankton are not dispersed uniformly or randomly within a region of the ocean. As with phytoplankton, 'patches' of zooplankton species exist throughout the ocean. Though few physical barriers exist above the mesopelagic , specific species of zooplankton are strictly restricted by salinity and temperature gradients, while ...
In the ocean, they provide a crucial source of food to many small and large aquatic organisms, such as bivalves, fish, and baleen whales. 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.
Together, phytoplankton and zooplankton make up most of the plankton in the sea. Plankton is the term applied to any small drifting organisms that float in the sea (Greek planktos = wanderer or drifter). By definition, organisms classified as plankton are unable to swim against ocean currents; they cannot resist the ambient current and control ...
Both plankton play a huge role in keeping our ocean ecosystem healthy. Most zooplankton sink towards the bottom of the ocean during the day, and at night they migrate towards the surface and feed ...
Because a large majority of the deep sea, especially marine microbes, depends on nutrients falling down, the quicker they can reach the ocean floor the better. Zooplankton and salps play a large role in the active transport of fecal pellets. 15–50% of zooplankton biomass is estimated to migrate, accounting for the transport of 5–45% of ...
The global biomass of gelatinous zooplankton (sometimes referred to as jelly‐C) within the upper 200 m of the ocean amounts to 0.038 Pg C. [21] Calculations for mesozooplankton (200 μm to 2 cm) suggest about 0.20 Pg C. [22] The short life span of most gelatinous zooplankton, from weeks up to 2 to 12 months, [23] [24] suggests biomass ...
They produce 25–45% of the total primary production of organic material in the oceans, [58] [59] [60] owing to their prevalence in open-ocean regions when total phytoplankton biomass is maximal. [61] [62] Diatoms are enclosed in protective silica (glass) shells called frustules. They are classified by the shape of these glass cages in which ...
Zooplankton thin layers are often found slightly under phytoplankton layers because many feed on them. Thin layers occur in a wide variety of ocean environments, including estuaries, coastal shelves, fjords, bays, and the open ocean, and they are often associated with some form of vertical structure in the water column, such as pycnoclines ...