Zooplankton 50558 224476558 2008-07-09T00:40:06Z Stupefaction 2109376 [[Image:Copepodkils.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A [[copepod]] (''[[Calanoida]]'' sp.)]] [[Image:Jelly 4.JPG|thumb|right|200px|A [[jellyfish]] (''[[Chrysaora quinquecirrha]]'')]] [[Image:Meganyctiphanes norvegica2.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Krill]] (''[[Northern krill|Meganyctiphanes norvegica]]'')]] '''Zooplankton''' are the [[heterotroph]]ic (sometimes [[Detritivore|detritivorous]]) type of [[plankton]]. Plankton are organisms drifting in the [[Pelagic zone|water column]] of [[ocean]]s, [[sea]]s, and bodies of [[fresh water]]. The name of zooplankton is derived from the [[Ancient Greek language|Greek]] ''zoon'' ({{Polytonic|ζῴον}}), meaning "[[animal]]", and ''{{lang|grc-Latn|planktos}}'' ({{lang|grc|πλαγκτος}}), meaning "wanderer" or "drifter".<ref>{{cite book | last = Thurman | first = H. V. | year = 1997 | title = Introductory Oceanography | publisher = Prentice Hall College | location = New Jersey, USA | isbn = 0132620723 }}</ref> Many zooplankton are too small to be seen individually with the [[naked eye]]. Zooplankton is a broad categorisation spanning a range of [[organism]] sizes that includes both small [[protozoa]]ns and large [[metazoa]]ns. It includes [[holoplankton]]ic organisms whose complete [[biological life cycle|life cycle]] lies within the plankton, and [[meroplankton]]ic organisms that spend part of their life cycle in the plankton before graduating to either the [[nekton]] or a [[sessile]], [[benthos|benthic]] existence. [[Ecology|Ecologically]] important protozoan zooplankton groups include the [[foraminifera]]ns, [[radiolaria]]ns and [[dinoflagellate]]s (the latter are often [[mixotroph]]ic). Important metazoan zooplankton include [[cnidaria]]ns such as [[jellyfish]] and the [[Portuguese Man o' War]]; [[crustacea]]ns such as [[copepod]]s and [[krill]]; [[chaetognath]]s (arrow worms); [[Mollusca|molluscs]] such as [[pteropod]]s; and [[chordate]]s such as [[salp]]s and juvenile [[fish]]. This wide [[phylogeny|phylogenetic]] range includes a similarly wide range in [[feeding]] behaviour: [[filter feeder|filter feeding]], [[predation]] and [[symbiosis]] with [[autotrophic]] [[phytoplankton]] as seen in corals. Zooplankton feed on [[bacterioplankton]], phytoplankton, other zooplankton (sometimes [[Cannibalism (zoology)|cannibalistically]]), [[detritus]] (or [[marine snow]]) and even nektonic organisms. Through their consumption and processing of phytoplankton (and other food sources), zooplankton play an important role in aquatic [[food web]]s, both as a resource for consumers on higher [[trophic level]]s and as a conduit for packaging the organic material in the [[biological pump]]. ==See also== * [[Bacterioplankton]] * [[Biological pump]] * [[Diel vertical migration]] * [[Gelatinous zooplankton]] * [[Iron fertilization]] * [[Ocean acidification]] * [[Phytoplankton]] * [[Plankton]] * [[Primary production]] ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * [http://planktonnet.sb-roscoff.fr/index.php Plankton*Net @ Roscoff], images of planktonic species * [http://www.tafi.org.au/zooplankton Guide to the marine zooplankton of south eastern Australia], [http://www.tafi.org.au/ Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute] [[Category:Aquatic ecology]] [[Category:Biological oceanography]] [[Category:Marine biology]] [[Category:Planktology]] [[es:Zooplancton]] [[et:Zooplankton]] [[fr:Zooplancton]] [[id:Zooplankton]] [[nl:Zoöplankton]] [[nn:Dyreplankton]] [[pl:Zooplankton]] [[ro:Zooplancton]] [[uk:Зоопланктон]]