Plankton Vocab

4. Free-swimming aquatic organisms, such as fish and squid, capable of active movement.
6. Pertaining to the bottom of a body of water; organisms living on or in the substrate.
7. Planktonic organisms that spend only a part of their life cycle as plankton.
9. Planktonic organisms that spend their entire life cycle in the planktonic phase.
10. Organisms that produce their own food through processes like photosynthesis.
13. Larger-sized plankton, visible under a microscope.
14. Unicellular algae that can be both phytoplankton and sometimes bioluminescent.

1. Microscopic, photosynthetic organisms that form the base of the aquatic food chain.
2. A type of phytoplankton with a silica-based cell wall, often shaped like a glass shell.
3. Small animals that feed on phytoplankton or other zooplankton.
5. Organisms that obtain their energy by consuming other organisms.
6. A rapid increase in the population of planktonic organisms, often causing discoloration of the water.
8. Microscopic organisms that drift or float in aquatic environments.
11. Small crustaceans that are a common type of zooplankton.
12. Extremely small-sized plankton, smaller than microplankton.