Plankton

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Plankton
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What are Plankton?

• Organisms that exist adrift in the ocean, unable
  to swim against currents and waves.
• Most (but not all) are very small. They include
  cyanobacteria, diatoms, dinoflagellates, various
  larvae, and jellyfish (which we will examine
  later).

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Characteristics of all cells

• Have selectively permeable membranes
• Contain DNA as genetic material
• Contain cytoplasm
• Have Ribosomes

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Two types of cells contrast Proks and Euks

• Prokaryotes

• Eukaryotes

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Plankton some examples of each

• Eukaryotes include
• Phytoplankton like Protists and Marine Plants
• Zooplankton like Jellyfish, Meroplankton (larval
  animals), and Holoplankton (forever tiny
  iecopepods)

• Prokaryotes include
• Cyanobacteria, also called Blue Green Algae
• Thermophillic Bacteria in deep sea vents
• Fecal Coliforms like E. coli

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Phytoplankton Zooplankton
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Who are the phytoplankton?Homework Part 1 4-15
to 4-18

• Diatoms
• Dinoflagellates
• Coccolithophores
• Cyanobacteria

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The attack of the killer algae Harmful algal
blooms (HABs)
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HABs

• Or red tides but not always red, and not
  related to tides
• Mostly from dinoflagellates, a few diatoms
• Associated with high supply of nutrients
• Toxins a byproduct of metabolism neurotoxins,
  paralytic, diarrhetic, amnesic
• Indirect poisoning thru food web
• People eat fish or shellfish that eat the
  Dinoflagellates

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Homework Part 2

• Visit the HABs website, then draw and describe
  the life cycle of a dinoflagellate
• http//www.whoi.edu/website/redtide/home
• How do ocean currents affect these blooms?