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 organism
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