What is the difference between meroplankton and holoplankton?

Holoplankton are organisms that are planktonic their whole life cycle, such as jellyfish, krill, and copepods. Meroplankton, on the other hand, are only planktonic for part of their life cycle. The blue crab is an example of an animal with a meroplankton larval form called zoea.

What are the two types of plankton?

Scientists classify plankton in several ways, including by size, type, and how long they spend drifting. But the most basic categories divide plankton into two groups: phytoplankton (plants) and zooplankton (animals).

What is zooplankton and phytoplankton?

Phytoplanktons and zooplanktons are two types of planktons that are found in water. Phytoplanktons are plants while zooplanktons are animals, this is the main difference between them. Larval Crustaceans, krills are examples of zooplanktons; algae and diatoms are examples of phytoplanktons.

Why are some zooplankton holoplanktonic?

The zooplankton consists of organisms which will remain planktonic during their whole lifetime (holoplankton) or those who spend only part of their life cycle such as the larval stage in the plankton (meroplankton).

Can phytoplankton photosynthesis?

Phytoplankton make their energy through photosynthesis, the process of using chlorophyll and sunlight to create energy. Like other plants, phytoplankton take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen.

Is green algae phytoplankton?

Multicellular green algae is also not considered phytoplankton for the same reasons. To be considered a phytoplankton, the algae needs to use chlorophyll A in photosynthesis, be single-celled or colonial (a group of single-cells), and live and die floating in the water, not attached to any substrate 1.

Which of the following types of plankton can photosynthesize and produce its own food?

Plankton that can photosynthesize are called phytoplankton and form the basis of oceanic food chains. Zooplankton are made up of tiny animals that feed on other plankton. Organisms that spend their whole lives as plankton are called holoplankton.

What type of organism is zooplankton?

Zooplankton are small, aquatic microorganisms in the water column that include crustaceans, rotifers, open water insect larvae and aquatic mites. The zooplankton community is composed of both primary consumers, which eat free-floating algae, and secondary consumers, which feed on other zooplankton.

Why are some zooplankton meroplankton?

Zooplankton can be further subdivided into holoplankton, i.e. permanent members of the plankton, and meroplankton, i.e. temporary members of this category. Meroplankton consist of larval and young stages of animals that will adopt a different lifestyle once they mature.