Dauphin Island Sea Lab Alabama’s Marine Research and Education Facility What’s in a teaspoon of seawater?

1 tsp of seawater ≈ 5 milliliters ≈ 100,000,000 viruses ≈ 10,000,000 bacteria ≈ 5,000 miilcroalgae ≈ 3,000 protozoa

most are harmless, even beneficial… …a few are not.

David A. Caron University of Southern California Harmful Algal Blooms Along the Southern California Coast: What are They, What are Their Causes, What are Their Impacts What is Plankton?

•Plankton comes from the Greek word “planktos,” which means to “wander”

•Animals and Plants that float, drift, or are weak swimmers

http://marinefisheries.org/fish/plankton.jpg Phytoplankton Plant,p,, Autotrophic, Photosynthetic Unicellullar Protists and Bacteria www.imagequest3d.com Primary Producer Produce 80% Oxygen supply Ex: Diatoms, Dinoflagellates Zooplankton

Animal, Heterotrophic Consumer Ex: Copepod, Crab, Jelly

•Holoplankton: zooplankton that spend their WHOLE lives as plankton

•Meroplankton: zooplankton that spend only part of their lives as plankton

Humans Carnivores

Only about 10% Secondary Consumers of the energy is (Filter Feeders) transfdferred Primary Consumers (Zooplankton) Primary Producers (Phyyptoplankton) Dr. Monty Graham , Dauphin Island Sea Lab Dr. Monty Graham , Dauphin Island Sea Lab

Stephanie Serra, Dauphin Island Sea Lab Stephanie Serra, Dauphin Island Sea Lab Dr. Monty Graham , Dauphin Island Sea Lab Comb Jellies

 Cnidae (stinging cells)  Adhesive colloblasts instead of cnidae  Incomplete, closed gastrovascular cavity  With tentacles (Tentaculata) or without (Nuda)  Dimorphic, ‘bipartite’ life‐ history (polyp and medusa)  Gastrovascular cavity is complete, branching canal  Colony formation by asexual system, 2 anal pores propogation  Direct development  Mostly marine (1 sp  Hermaphroditic (except freshwater hydromedusa) Ocyropsis); Self‐fertilization  Planktonic forms are mostly is known carnivorous, but  Exclusively marine, all but 1 supplemental symbiont‐ order is planktonic derived carbon is common  Entirely carnivorous, no symbiont‐containing species Dr. Monty Graham , Dauphin Island Sea Lab Dr. Monty Graham , Dauphin Island Sea Lab Dr. Monty Graham , Dauphin Island Sea Lab