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The microorganisms of the marine biome
Plankton. The name comes from the Greek word planktos (similar to the root word in planet) derives its meaning as "wandering" or "drifting". Some plankton, such as phytoplankton grows using only three resources - sunlight, water, and the minerals that can be found in its surroundings. Many people do not realize and are surprized to hear that algae is a form of plankton.
Oceanic plankton are the most important food source of their biome. They are at the bottom of the oceanic food chain, meaning that without them, nobody would be able to survive (without evolution, of course).
All of the plankton contained in the ocean are either open-water plants, animals, or bacteria. When many people think of plankton, they imagine an extremely small, microscopic organism. While this is true for the majority of all plankton, some plankton have the ability to combine to form larger organisms. A good example of one that can do this is the jellyfish.
There are two main types of plankton:
- phytoplankton: microscopic plants and bacteria
- zooplankton: microscopic animals
Plankton also serves as important tools for humans. Not only do they serve as a food source for many creatures that we depend upon, but they are also an immediate indicator to the current "health", so to speak, of the water in which they reside. This is made possible because of the fact that plankton is an extremely sensitive organism, therefore it is very easy to observe changes in plankton when there have been slight changes in the plankton's environment.
