1. What Do You Really Know About Plankton?
Name means: “Drifters” or “Wanderers”
So. . .are they autotrophs or heterotrophs?
What other “P-L-A-N” word do you know that is a “drifter” or “wanderer”? (Planets) Copepods are the real “Plankton” on Sponge Bob
They can be either one!

2. Autotrophs vs. Heterotrophs
Most autotrophs use sunlight to make energy
6 H CO2 +solar energy--> C6H12O6 + 6 O2
Heterotrophs eat autotrophs and other heterotrophs
to obtain energy
Which are autotrophs and which are heterotrophs in these pictures?

3. Who are the Marine Autotrophs?
1-4) Dinoflagellates (whoa! Plants with tails!) 5-9) Diatoms Bioluminescence (quick):
Tiny marine plants called Phytoplankton– producers in the oceanic food web

4. Different wavelengths penetrate to different depths, So notice that all wavelengths other than blue get absorbed in the water above 100 m
Plankton
Reminder: What do plants need? Light!

5. Where are Phytoplankton found?
Upper layers of the ocean, also introduce benthos and nekton

6. Phytoplankton are found in the photic zone (upper part of the ocean)

7. Weird Phytoplankton Fact: Some phytoplankton can be very dangerous when they “bloom” (reproduce rapidly)
Red Tide Turtle Deaths: Tide Turtles

8. Who are the Marine Heterotrophs?
Ctenophore 2-3) mollusk pteropods 4) euphausid shrimp 5) amphipod 6) copepod 7) chaetognath
(Not always) tiny marine animals called Zooplankton–consumers in the oceanic food web

9. Reminder: Zooplankton are not always tiny, but they are drifters!

10. Typical Marine Food Web:
Can you tell which are the Autotrophs and which are the Heterotrophs?

11. More Vocabulary Plankton can be divided into lifestyles:
Meroplankton , which merely spend SOME of their lives as drifters
and
2) Holoplankton, which spend their WHOLE lives drifting
These photos are krill, copepods, and jellies (all mero). Then what do meroplankton do after their done drifting? Crawl (crabs, sea stars, lobsters, snails), swim (fish), burrow (worms, clams)

12. Guess what these Meroplankton “Grow Up” to be” and what they do when they’re done with the “drifter” lifestyle
Sea star (crawl), Snail veliger larvae (crawl), lobster larvae (crawl) crab zoea larvae (crawl), fish larvae (swim)

13. How do we “hunt” for plankton?
Why don’t you catch fish in a plankton net?

14. So is Plankton from Sponge Bob Zooplankton or Phytoplankton?
Holo- or Mero- too (Holo)