Aeroplankton
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'''Aeroplankton''' (or '''aerial plankton''') is the term used to describe the tiny lifeforms which float and drift in the air, carried by the [[Current (fluid)|current]] of the [[wind]]; it is the [[atmospheric]] [[analogy (biology)|analogue]] to oceanic [[plankton]].
Most of the living things that make up aeroplankton are very small to [[Microscope|microscopic]] in size, and many can be difficult to identify because of their tiny size. Scientists can collect them for study in traps and sweep nets from [[Fixed-wing aircraft|airplanes]].
The aeroplankton comprises numerous [[Microorganism|microbes]], including [[virus]]es, about 1000 different species of [[bacteria]], around 40,000 varieties of [[Fungus|fungi]], and hundreds of species of [[protist]]s, [[algae]], [[moss]]es and [[Marchantiophyta|liverworts]] that live some part of their life cycle as aeroplankton, often as [[spore]]s, [[pollen]], and wind-scattered [[seed]]s.
A large number of small animals, mainly [[arthropod]]s (such as [[insect]]s and [[spider]]s), are also carried upwards into the atmosphere by air currents and may be found floating several thousand feet up. [[Aphid]]s, for example, are frequently found at high altitudes. Many species of spiders deliberately use the wind to propel themselves around an area. The spider will find a vantage point (such as a branch, fence or surface) and, pointing its [[abdomen]] upward, eject fine threads of [[Spider silk|silk]] from the [[spinneret]]s. At some point, the friction of the air upon the silk thread(s) is great enough to get the spider lifted into the air and carried off by the breeze. This is called ballooning. Ballooning spiders (see [[Linyphiidae]]) are capable of drifting many miles away from where they started. The flexibility of their silk draglines can aid the aerodynamics of their flight, causing the spiders to drift an unpredictable and sometimes long distance [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/5174012.stm].
==See also==
*[[aerobiology]]
==External links==
*[http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/almanac/arc_1998/98sep02.htm Living on the air]
[[Category:Ecological definitions]]
[[Category:Planktology]]
[[Category:Zoology]]
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