google images, you can find anything there
2006-10-17 10:19:06
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answer #1
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answered by krash726 2
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Plankton are drifting organisms that inhabit the water column of oceans, seas, and bodies of fresh water.
Definitions
The name plankton is derived from the Greek word ÏλανκÏÎ¿Ï ("planktos"), meaning "wanderer" or "drifter" (Thurman, 1997). While some forms of plankton are capable of independent movement and can swim up to several hundreds of metres vertically in a single day (a behavior called diel vertical migration), their horizontal position is primarily determined by currents in the body of water they inhabit. By definition, organisms classified as "plankton" are unable to resist ocean currents. This is in contrast to nekton organisms that can swim against the ambient flow of the water environment and control their position (e.g. squid, fish, krill and marine mammals).
Within the plankton itself, holoplankton are those organisms that spend their entire life cycle as part of the plankton (e.g. most algae, copepods, salps, and jellyfish). By contrast, meroplankton are those organisms that are only planktonic for part of their lives (usually the larval stage), and then graduate to either the nekton or a benthic existence. Examples of meroplankton include the larvae of sea urchins, sea stars, crustaceans, marine worms, and most fish.
Plankton abundance and distribution are strongly dependent on factors such as ambient nutrients concentrations, the physical state of the water column, and the abundance of other plankton.
The study of plankton is termed planktology. Individual plankton are referred to as plankters.
You could get more information from the link below...
2006-10-18 07:51:01
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answer #3
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answered by catzpaw 6
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