One of two groups into which plankton are divided, the other being phytoplankton. Zooplankton are a large group of micro- and macroscopic animals ranging in size from a fraction of a millimeter to 30-50 millimeters, with a few, such a certain jellyfish, being up to a meter in diameter. Some plankton, called permanent plankton or holoplankton, are adapted to a pelagic mode of existence and remain floating or feebly swimming throughout their entire life cycle. Others, called temporary plankton, are the transitory floating stages such as eggs, larvae, and juveniles of the benthos and nekton. This latter category is usually seasonal in occurrence and the abundance is primarily neritic since it derives from the benthos and nekton of shallow areas. See Johnson (1957) and Riley and Chester (1971).
small animals that float or drift in great numbers in fresh or salt water, especially at or near the surface. These serve as food for many larger organisms. (Compare to phytoplankton.)
Animal portion of the plankton; the animal community in marine and fresh-water situations which floats free in the water, independent of the shore and the bottom, moving passively with the currents.
Small (often microscopic) free-floating aquatic plants or animals.
animal component of the plankton community
Tiny aquatic animals eaten by fish.
the microscopic animal life found in bodies of water.
animal constituent of plankton; mainly small crustaceans and fish larvae. (Compare to phytoplankton.)
zoo-plank-tun The component of plankton consisting of minute animals.
Animal component of the plankton that feed on phytoplankton and other zooplankton (primary consumers). Compare phytoplankton.
small animals, or larvae or larger animals, which drift in the ocean.
a category of plankton composed of microscopic animals and animal matter
ZO-O-PLANK-tun Abundant protozoa and microscopic animals in bodies of water. 458
The animal component of the plankton, having only limited locomotory powers.
Microscopic aquatic organisms that drift in the ocean, including larvae, and are the first consumers in a marine food chain. See Plankton.
Animals that drift in the water column. Most zooplankton are microscopic and some are the larval forms of larger organisms.
The animal component of plankton that passively drift or weakly swim within the water column. All major animal phyla are represented in zooplankton as adults, larvae, or eggs.
Tiny animals or larvae of other animals living in water. usually used in reference to marine aquaria.
Gr. zoon - animal; planktos - wandering]. Minute aquatic animals that drift freely in the plankton, feeding mainly on phytoplankton (plant-like organisms) and having no locomotory structures.
Small, usually microscopic animals; includes tiny waterborne crustaceans and fish larvae, also includes corals, rotifers, sea anemones, and jellyfish. - See plankton.
Tiny microscopic animals found drifting in seawater. This includes the larval stages of many fish and invertebrates.
The animal constituent of plankton.
Small, usually microscopic animals (such as protozoans), found in lakes and reservoirs.
Planktonic animals, such as copepods and jellyfish.
Zooplankton are the tiny animals that float passively in the water and are a component of plankton (the passively floating animal and plant life of a body of water). Zooplankton obtain food from the environment (and not by photosynthesis).
Protozoa (single-celled organisms), small crustaceans, jellyfish, worms, and mollusks, together with the eggs and larvae of the many animal species inhabiting marine and fresh waters
