An Illustrated and Cross-Referenced Glossary of
Malacological and Conchological Terms
by Paul S. Mikkelsen

Look for:  
Search results for:   PLANKTON       6 terms were found.

Term Definition
DEVELOPMENT, PLANKTONIC   Having a free-swimming or floating larval stage; see also: DEVELOPMENT, DIRECT; LECITHOTROPHIC; PLANKTOTROPHIC, PLANKTON.
   
HOLOPLANKTON   PLANKTON which spends its entire life in the water column. See also: MEROOPLANKTON.
   
MEROPLANKTON   PLANKTON which spends only a portion of its life in the water column. See also: HOLOPLANKTON.
   
PLANKTON   Organisms that drift in the water column of salt, brackish, or fresh water. See also: ZOOPLANKTON, HOLOPLANKTON, MEROPLANKTON.

See also: the glossary link on the PlanktonNet website for a large, illustrated glossary of plankton-related terminology.
   
PLANKTONIC   Floating or suspended in the water column, and generally incapable of overcoming the currents by swimming although some directional movement is possible, usually vertical; see also: BENTHIC; PLANTIGRADE.
   
ZOOPLANKTON   PLANKTON consisting of animals, vs. plants (phytoplankton) or bacteria (bacterioplankton). Various mollusks are part of the plankton, such as PTEROPODS and Janthina spp.
   

Copyright ©Paul S. Mikkelsen, All Rights Reserved Return to Home Page  |  Return to Top Over 1700 Terms in the Glossary!