Plankton Vocabulary

2. Pertaining to the bottom of a body of water; organisms living on or in the substrate.
4. Free-swimming aquatic organisms, such as fish and squid, capable of active movement.
6. A type of phytoplankton with a silica-based cell wall, often shaped like a glass shell.
8. Microscopic, photosynthetic organisms that form the base of the aquatic food chain.
9. Unicellular algae that can be both phytoplankton and sometimes bioluminescent.
10. Microscopic organisms that drift or float in aquatic environments.
12. Small crustaceans that are a common type of zooplankton.

1. Organisms that obtain their energy by consuming other organisms.
3. Planktonic organisms that spend only a part of their life cycle as plankton.
5. Planktonic organisms that spend their entire life cycle in the planktonic phase.
7. Small animals that feed on phytoplankton or other zooplankton.
11. A rapid increase in the population of planktonic organisms, often causing discoloration of the water