Bacterioplankton
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'''Bacterioplankton''' refers to the [[bacterium|bacterial]] component of the [[plankton]] that drifts in the water column. The name comes from the [[Greek language|Greek]] word πλανκτος ("planktos"), meaning "wanderer" or "drifter" (Thurman, 1997), and ''bacterium'', a word coined in the 19th century by [[Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg]]. They are found in both [[seawater]] and [[freshwater]].
Bacterioplankton occupy a range of [[ecological niche]]s in aquatic systems. Many are [[saprotroph]]ic, and obtain energy by consuming organic material produced by other organisms. This material may be [[Dissolved Organic Carbon|dissolved]] in the medium and taken directly from there, or bacteria may live and grow in association with particulate material such as [[marine snow]]. Many other bacterioplankton species are [[autotroph]]ic, and derive energy from either [[photosynthesis]] or [[chemosynthesis]]. The former are often categorised as [[phytoplankton|picophytoplankton]], and include [[cyanobacteria]]l groups such as ''[[Prochlorococcus]]'' and ''[[Synechococcus]]''. Bacterioplankton also play roles in ecological pathways such as [[nitrogen fixation]], [[nitrification]], [[denitrification]], [[remineralisation]] and [[methanogen]]esis.
Like other small plankton, the bacterioplankton are [[predation|preyed]] upon by [[zooplankton]] (usually [[protozoa]]ns), and their numbers are also controlled through [[infection]] by [[bacteriophage]]s.
==References==
* {{cite book
| last = Thurman
| first = H. V.
| year = 1997
| title = Introductory Oceanography
| publisher = Prentice Hall College
| location = New Jersey, USA
| ISBN = 0132620723
}}
==See also==
* ''[[Pelagibacter]]''
* [[Phytoplankton]]
* [[Plankton]]
* [[Zooplankton]]
==External links==
* [http://thalassa.cbl.umces.edu/MO2006/ Typical Marine bacterioplankton]
* [http://thalassa.cbl.umces.edu/MO2006/marbac.html A list of Seawater Bacteria]
* [http://halia.hik.se/mbd/start.jsp Marine Bacterioplankton Database]
[[Category:Biological oceanography]]
[[Category:Planktology]]
[[Category:Aquatic ecology]]
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