Term
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Definition
| Descriptive of planktonic organisms that have no recognizable method of movement. |
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Term
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Definition
| An organism that swims with legs, fins, wings, or other extensions from the body. |
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Term
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Definition
| A subcomponent of a food web in which bacteria convert dissolved and particulate organic matter into bacterial biomass, available for consumption by suspension and deposit feeders; particularly applied to bacteria that use dissolved organic material (DOM) released by phytoplankton. |
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Term
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Definition
| Prokaryotic members of the plankton. |
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Term
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Definition
| Components of the plankton that are so small that they are not retained by standard plankton nets; best sampled by centrifugation of water samples; composed mainly of nanoplankton, picoplankton, and femtoplankton. |
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Term
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Definition
| A camouflage pattern in which the upper surface of pelagic animals is dark and the lower surface light to blend in with the ocean depths or the surface, respectively when observed by a potential predator. Also known as obliterative countershading. |
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Term
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Definition
| A mixed group of zooplankton and fishes that causes sonar systems to generate a false image of a nearly solid surface hanging in midwater. |
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Term
| dissolved organic matter (DOM) |
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Definition
| Organic molecules dissolved in seawater that were lost or released from living organisms. |
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Term
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Definition
| See dissolved organic matter. |
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Term
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Definition
| The waters over the continental shelf, or to 200 meters deep in the open sea, occupied by zooplankton and nekton. |
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Term
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Definition
| Plankton that range in size from 0.02 to 0.2 micrometers, composed primarily of viruses. |
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Term
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Definition
| Resistance to movement that is generated by the passage of the medium (for example, seawater) over the surface of an object. |
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Term
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Definition
| Components of the plankton that have a high content of body water. |
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Term
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Definition
| A carnivorous oceanic gastropod that has no shell and swims by flapping lateral extensions of its foot. |
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Term
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Definition
| Organisms that are planktonic throughout their life cycles. |
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Term
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Definition
| Descriptive of planktonic organisms that are able to move by flagella, limbs, jet propulsion, or other devices. |
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Term
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Definition
| A free-swimming tunicate that resembles a tadpole. |
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Term
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Definition
| Plankton that range in size from 2 to 20 centimeters, composed primarily of animals. |
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Term
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Definition
| A loose network of live and dead particles in the plankton arising from webs of mucus released by many kinds of microbes and zooplankton. |
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Term
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Definition
| Plankton that range in size from 20 to 200 centimeters, composed primarily of the larger jellyfishes, siphonophores, salps, and floating mats of sargassum weed. |
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Term
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Definition
| Planktonic stages of an organism that is benthic or nektonic at other stages in its life history. |
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Term
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Definition
| Plankton that range in size from 0.2 to 20 millimeters, composed primarily of larger phytoplankton and larvae of zooplankton as well as many kinds of adult crustaceans and other zooplankton groups. |
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Term
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Definition
| The small-scale clumped distribution of organisms within an ecosystem, often explained by the similarly small-scale variation in the physical and chemical environment or disturbance effects of other organisms. |
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Term
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Definition
| Plankton ranging from 20 to 200 micrometers, composed of many kinds of phytoplankton, marine invertebrate larvae, and smaller adult zooplankton. |
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Term
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Definition
| Plankton ranging from 2 to 20 micrometers, composed primarily of small phytoplankton and larger bacteria. Also known as centrifuge plankton. |
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Term
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Definition
| Components of the plankton that are large enough to be sampled with standard plankton nets; mainly composed of microplankton and larger organisms. |
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Term
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Definition
| Plankton that live at or near the surface of the ocean. |
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Term
| particulate organic matter (POM) |
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Definition
| Particles of organic matter suspended in seawater; largely synonymous with detritus and tripton. |
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Term
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Definition
| The animals, plants, and microbes of the water column and their realm of the open sea. |
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Term
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Definition
| Plankton that range in size from 0.2 to 2.0 micrometers, composed primarily of larger viruses and many kinds of bacteria. |
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Term
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Definition
| Components of the neuston that breach the surface of the ocean and are carried by wind as well as water currents. |
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Term
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Definition
| See particulate organic matter. |
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Term
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Definition
| Calcareous sediments of the seafloor formed by the accumulation of shells of thecosome pteropods. |
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Term
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Definition
| A pyramid-shaped diagram that indicates the rate that organic matter is produced or the rate at which it is converted to the next level in the food chain. |
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Term
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Definition
| Large colony of pelagic tunicates that move by cilia of the pharynx. A colony may contain as many as 500 individuals per cubic meter of water and stretch over several meters. |
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Term
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Definition
| A free-swimming tunicate belonging to the class Thaliacea. |
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Term
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Definition
| Particles, living or dead, suspended in seawater. |
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Term
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Definition
| The amount of biomass in any trophic level in a food chain at a given time. |
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Term
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Definition
| An herbivorous oceanic gastropod that has a highly reduced shell and swims by flapping lateral extensions of its foot. |
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Term
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Definition
| Particles of dead organic matter suspended in seawater; largely synonymous with detritus and POM. |
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Term
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Definition
| The region of ocean between 150 and 450 meters deep where there is not enough light to power photosynthesis. Also known as the disphotic zone. |
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Term
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Definition
| Planktonic virus particles. |
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Term
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Definition
| Components of the plankton that feed by ingestion of detritus or of other zooplankton. |
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