Plankton Vocab

3. Planktonic organisms that spend only a part of their life cycle as plankton.
4. Small crustaceans that are a common type of zooplankton.
6. A type of phytoplankton with a silica-based cell wall, often shaped like a glass shell.
8. Free-swimming aquatic organisms, such as fish and squid, capable of active movement.
9. The depth in the water column where the rate of photosynthesis equals the rate of respiration.
10. A close and long-term interaction between different biological species.
12. A bloom of harmful, often toxic, phytoplankton that can lead to the discoloration of water.
13. Small animals that feed on phytoplankton or other zooplankton.
15. The position an organism occupies in a food chain, indicating its feeding relationship to other organisms.
17. Organisms that produce their own food through processes like photosynthesis.
18. Zooplankton that remain in the planktonic phase throughout their entire life cycle.
19. Microscopic organisms that drift or float in aquatic environments.
20. Organisms that obtain their energy by consuming other organisms.

1. Microscopic, photosynthetic organisms that form the base of the aquatic food chain.
2. Planktonic organisms that spend their entire life cycle in the planktonic phase.
5. Unicellular algae that can be both phytoplankton and sometimes bioluminescent.
7. Larger-sized plankton, visible under a microscope.
11. Pertaining to the bottom of a body of water; organisms living on or in the substrate.
14. A rapid increase in the population of planktonic organisms, often causing discoloration of the water.
16. Extremely small-sized plankton, smaller than microplankton.