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plankton
[ plangk-tuhn ]
noun
- the aggregate of passively floating, drifting, or somewhat motile organisms occurring in a body of water, primarily comprising microscopic algae and protozoa.
plankton
/ plæŋkˈtɒnɪk; ˈplæŋktən /
noun
- the organisms inhabiting the surface layer of a sea or lake, consisting of small drifting plants and animals, such as diatoms Compare nekton
plankton
/ plăngk′tən /
- Small organisms that float or drift in great numbers in bodies of salt or fresh water. Plankton is a primary food source for many animals, and consists of bacteria, protozoans, certain algae, cnidarians, tiny crustaceans such as copepods, and many other organisms.
- Compare benthos
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Derived Forms
- planktonic, adjective
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Other Words From
- plank·ton·ic [plangk-, ton, -ik], adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of plankton1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of plankton1
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Example Sentences
Jellyfish eat the eggs and larvae of other species higher on the food chain, as well as the plankton that those larvae would eat.
Plankton, those wily producers of every second breath of oxygen you breath, will be naked and vulnerable.
Both fish and plankton are consumed by humpback whales as well as by other predators.
By autumn, plankton concentrations diminish as light and nutrient levels decrease.
The same method is followed by the pretty radiolaria which live floating (as plankton) at various depths of the sea.
Nine tenths of the species are marine; of these some are pelagic, and their transparent forms constitute a part of the plankton.
The expedition made significant observations of the role of plankton in the biological utilization of ocean fallout.
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