The Great Plankton Race
Photic Zone - The depth of water in a lake or ocean that is exposed to sufficient sunlight to photosynthesize.
Plankton - Small organisms that float or drift in great numbers in bodies of salt or fresh water; a primary food source for many animals, and consists of bacteria, protozoans, algae, cnidarians, tiny crustaceans such as copepods, and many other organisms.
Benthic - non - floating plankton; these plankton do not float in the water - instead they live attatched to or on top of a solid surface like rocks, plants, sediment, even a single grain of sand; planktonic diatoms are typically pennate, or not round - this is the most common type of diatom to find in a lake.
Planktonic - Floating in the water column; planktonic diatoms are typically centric, or round
Raphe - Slit alongside the side of a diatom cell where tiny microfribils protrude that allow the diatom to move over a surface
Phytoplankton - a type of plankton (drifting marine organism that makes up the foundation of the marine food web) that relies on photosynthesis. This group is comprised mostly of single-celled algae, diatoms, and bacteria.
Zooplankton - a type of plankton that feeds on phytoplankton.
Adaptations - any physical or behavioral ltrait that allows an organism to better survive in its enviornment.
Cilia - hair-like extensions found on ciliates, a type of plankton, to help them move and catch food.
Flagella - tails found on dianoflagellates, a type of plankton
Surface area - the total area of all of the faces and curved surface of a solid object
Density - mass per unit of volume; a measure of the relative "heaviness" of objects
Micron - a unit of length equal to one millionth of a meter. This is the units used to measure plankton size. Conversion formulas: microns = 1000 x mm; millimeters = microns x 0.001
Plankton - Small organisms that float or drift in great numbers in bodies of salt or fresh water; a primary food source for many animals, and consists of bacteria, protozoans, algae, cnidarians, tiny crustaceans such as copepods, and many other organisms.
Benthic - non - floating plankton; these plankton do not float in the water - instead they live attatched to or on top of a solid surface like rocks, plants, sediment, even a single grain of sand; planktonic diatoms are typically pennate, or not round - this is the most common type of diatom to find in a lake.
Planktonic - Floating in the water column; planktonic diatoms are typically centric, or round
Raphe - Slit alongside the side of a diatom cell where tiny microfribils protrude that allow the diatom to move over a surface
Phytoplankton - a type of plankton (drifting marine organism that makes up the foundation of the marine food web) that relies on photosynthesis. This group is comprised mostly of single-celled algae, diatoms, and bacteria.
Zooplankton - a type of plankton that feeds on phytoplankton.
Adaptations - any physical or behavioral ltrait that allows an organism to better survive in its enviornment.
Cilia - hair-like extensions found on ciliates, a type of plankton, to help them move and catch food.
Flagella - tails found on dianoflagellates, a type of plankton
Surface area - the total area of all of the faces and curved surface of a solid object
Density - mass per unit of volume; a measure of the relative "heaviness" of objects
Micron - a unit of length equal to one millionth of a meter. This is the units used to measure plankton size. Conversion formulas: microns = 1000 x mm; millimeters = microns x 0.001
Plankton Results :
- It took 53 seconds to sink below the photic zone.
- I thought it was longer than what i expected my plankton to go.
- This was the longest out of all of my other classmates.
- Other observations i made is that plankton sink at very low rates if it is made of the balanced amount of heaviness and foam like materials.
- Plankton would want to go up and down in the water column to hide from predators and then up to feed.
- If plankton cannot swim against the current, then the move by having swim bladders by floating or sinking to move from different water columns.
- We were actually supposed to be the winners, but people say we cheated because we modified it.
- The performance of my plankton would be different in saltwater because in salt water it would be more dense, so it would sink very slow.
- If the performance of my plankton was performed in very cold water, it would have a very slow sink rate. If it was performed in very hot water, then my plankton would sink to the bottom fast.
- Other factors, other than buoyancy, that influenced the evolution of planktons external features is legs/bristles, cilia, antennae, eyes, vacuole/swim bladder, wings, thin skin, and translucent.
Adaptation
Flagella Legs/Bristles Cilia Antennae Eyes Vacuole/Swim Bladder Wings Think Skin Translucent |
Advantage/Reason
To move/catch phytoplankton Movement-avoid predation To sense prey/avoid predation to see Control buoyancy like a parachute/slow down sinking stay a float stay a float/lighter hide from predators |
Conclusion:
I learned that plankton come with various ways to survive and feed. Plankton have swim bladders just like fishes, some are translucent and have bristle and multiple legs to swim away from predators or to feed. I also learned that they hide at the bottom of the sea in the daytime and then come up to the top at night to feed. They do this to hide from predators. They also use their buoyancy to float and sink or stay nuetrally buoyant to get to where they want to go.
I learned that plankton come with various ways to survive and feed. Plankton have swim bladders just like fishes, some are translucent and have bristle and multiple legs to swim away from predators or to feed. I also learned that they hide at the bottom of the sea in the daytime and then come up to the top at night to feed. They do this to hide from predators. They also use their buoyancy to float and sink or stay nuetrally buoyant to get to where they want to go.