Plankton Vocab

2. Pertaining to the bottom of a body of water; organisms living on or in the substrate.
5. The depth in the water column where the rate of photosynthesis equals the rate of respiration.
7. Small crustaceans that are a common type of zooplankton.
10. A rapid increase in the population of planktonic organisms, often causing discoloration of the water.
11. A close and long-term interaction between different biological species.
13. Free-swimming aquatic organisms, such as fish and squid, capable of active movement.
14. The position an organism occupies in a food chain, indicating its feeding relationship to other organisms.
15. Microscopic organisms that drift or float in aquatic environments.
16. Planktonic organisms that spend their entire life cycle in the planktonic phase.
17. Extremely small-sized plankton, smaller than microplankton.
19. Organisms that obtain their energy by consuming other organisms.
20. Organisms that produce their own food through processes like photosynthesis.

1. A type of phytoplankton with a silica-based cell wall, often shaped like a glass shell.
3. Microscopic, photosynthetic organisms that form the base of the aquatic food chain.
4. Planktonic organisms that spend only a part of their life cycle as plankton.
6. Unicellular algae that can be both phytoplankton and sometimes bioluminescent.
8. Zooplankton that remain in the planktonic phase throughout their entire life cycle.
9. Larger-sized plankton, visible under a microscope.
12. Small animals that feed on phytoplankton or other zooplankton.
18. A bloom of harmful, often toxic, phytoplankton that can lead to the discoloration of water.