Living in the Baltic Sea

Average size
Most often microscopic in size. Plankton are primarily divided into broad functional or trophic level groups such as, Phyto-plankton, Zoo-plankton, Bacterio-plankton. Division by size includes: Mega-plankton, Macro-plankton, Meso-plankon, Micro-plankton, Nano-plankton, Pico-plankton and Femto-plankton. The Nano-plankton and the even smaller Plankton was discovered as late as in the 1980's, but they are thought to make up the largest proportion of all Plankton i both number and diversity.
Age
Short- lived organisms with variations between the different species.
Record size & age
Not available

Habitat
Any body of water. The name Plankton originates from the Greek and means ”wanderer” or ”drifter”, since they have little or no ability to swim and are unable to resist currents in the water.
Food
Other microscopic organisms, some species are carnivorous and others are herbivorous.
Reproduction
Many types of plankton reproduce sexually. Some have specialized appendages that grasp onto their partners, preventing them from drifting away during the copulation process. Certain Holo-plankton and Mero-plankton invertebrates release sperm into a water column that is then taken up by the females in order to fertilize their eggs. Still others release eggs and sperm simultaneously. Some reproduce asexually, others through fission and fragmentation.

Human impact and Status
Aside from representing the lowest few levels of a food chain that supports commercially important fisheries, Plankton ecosystem play a role in the biochemical cycles of many important chemical elements, including the ocean's sulfur and carbon cycle. Plankton abundance and distribution are strongly dependent on factors such as ambient nutrients concentrations, the physical state of the water column, and the abundance of other Plankton. Their existence is crucial in the ecosystem and is an important source of food to fish. CLOSE