That portion of the plankton community comprised of tiny plants (algae). Diatoms and dinoflagellates are two common types of phytoplankton.

drifting, often microscopic oceanic plants which conduct the process of photosynthesis.

Algae, microscopic single-celled plants that float in the surface waters of the sea, lakes and rivers. In the ocean they constitute the bottom of the marine food chain. They have been called 'the pasture of the sea.' Like plants on land, they use sunlight to convert carbondioxide and water into sugars and oxygen in the process of photosynthesis.

the plant form of plankton, most are microscopic; they are important as primary producers in an estuarine ecosystem.

Phytoplankton - The plant forms of plankton; for example, diatoms, which are unicellular aquatic plants related to algae.

Microscope plant life (unicellular algae) that lives in the sea. Phytoplankton provide the majority of plant life which Antarctic food chains depend on.

Small, drifting plants, mostly algae and bacteria, found in aquatic ecosystems. Compare plankton, zooplankton.

free-floating photosynthetic organisms existing in aquatic environments

Plankton consisting of plants, such as algae.

plant plankton.  Phytoplankton carries out photosynthesis and is the basis of the aquatic food chain.

Microscopic plants that float or drift almost passively in oceans, lakes, or rivers.

Microscopic plants that float in aquatic or marine environments (fresh or salty water)

tiny floating aquatic plants (algae)

microscopic plant life that floats in or on bodies of water. References Pennak, R.W. (1978). Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States (2nd Edition). John Wiley and Sons, NY. Chapter 12: 254-274. Lide, D.R. (1996). Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (77th Ed.). CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. Wood. T.S. (1991) Bryozoans. Chapter 14 in Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates (Thorp, J.H., and Covich, A.P., eds.), pp. 481-499. (A useful source for more detailed references).

algae that swim or float in water

Drifting plants such as microscopic algae that nourish themselves from the energy of the sun; they are at the base of the food chain and provide a food source for bacteria, water molds, and zooplankton. Plankton that demonstrate characteristics of the plant kingdom ( i.e., they derive energy from inorganic substances).

Tiny plants and algae in the planktonic layer.

plant microorganisms that float in the water, such as certain algae.

The plant portion of the plankton community. They are usually microscopic and can grow as single cells, colonies, or filaments; some multicellular forms can be macroscopic.

Microscopic algae suspended in the water column. They contains pigments known as chlorophylls and phaeophytons which make eutrophic waters look green or brown.

Small aquatic plants that drift in the sunlit surface of the ocean; commonly known as algae, these plants exist as producers at the bottom of many food chains. Phytoplankton form a symbiotic relationship with plankton.

Microscopic algae that float in the water

a very small plant species that usually lives on the surface of bodies of water, such as lakes.

see " Algae."

very small free-floating aquatic plants such as one-celled algae

Microscopic plants that drift in surface water in ponds, lakes and the ocean. Marine phytoplankton are sometimes called 'the grass of the sea' because they are fed upon ('grazed') by animals in the water.

Planktonic plant life.

Plankton are usually very small organisms that cannot move independently of water currents. Phytoplankton are any plankton that are capable of making food via photosynthesis.

Algae that float in the water column (some of which are able to migrate short distances up and down in the water with changes in sunlight from night to day).

Floating, mostly microscopic algae (plants) that live in water.

free-floating microscopic plants such as algae that are the foundation of the marine food chain.

small plants (best seen with a microscope) floating in the upper layer of the ocean

microscopic algae in the upper ocean

Drifting microscopic plants that trap the energy from the sunlight and are primary organisms in a marine food chain.

The diverse community of microscopic suspended algae (single-celled plants); in San Francisco Bay this community represents the largest component of living biomass; phytoplankton photosynthesis is a source of oxygen and pyhtoplankton biomass is an important food resource for the small animals that live in the Bay

Floating or swimming microscopic algae and cyanobacteria

marine algae that are primary producers in lakes, oceans, and estuarine systems.

Microscopic plants, such as algae, suspended in aquatic environments.

Populations and communities of highly diverse, free-floating plant cells and protozoa that photosynthesize and form the basis of marine food chains.

Microscopic plant life living suspended in water.

Organisms that are part of the plankton and are photosynthetic, meaning that they utilize the energy from light to grow.

plants (usually microscopic) that float at or near the surface of open water.

plankton that photosynthesizes (autotrophic)

floating microscopic plants that obtain their energetic requirements through photosynthesis.

Small plants that are suspended in water and free-drifting.

planktonic marine plants and algae; the basis of the marine food chain.

Free floating microscopic plants (algae) (Gr. phyton plant).

planktonic plant species; includes diatoms and dinoflagellates.

microscopic plants that are generally at the mercy of the currents. Under certain conditions, Some are capable of altering their buoyancy and float nearer the surface, which gives them a competitive advantage for light and creates a surface bloom. Blooms, whether on the surface or in the water column, can lead to problems of dissolved oxygen.

Free-floating microscopically small plants suspended in water.

tiny creatures found in the water that use sunlight to store water like plants

Diverse group of minute plants that drift freely within the water column. !-- assign table width based on how this page is called close_it();

FITE-o-PLANK-tun Microscopic algae. 458

Microscopic plants that live in open water.

Microscopic, planktonic plants which exist within the water column.

Tiny plant species that float freely in the water.

Small plants that drift in the water current.

Planktonic organisms containing photosynthetic pigments.

Tiny plants that float in the ocean at the mercy of the currents.

a community of microscopic plants found in the majority of surface water-bodies

Small, usually microscopic plants (such as algae), found in lakes, reservoirs, and other bodies of water.

microscopic, usually single-celled, plants that float on or in water

(fito plank ton) - floating algae that use the sun's light to make energy.

That portion of the plankton community in a body of water made up of tiny plants (e.g., algae and diatoms). Source: EPO.

microscopic floating plants

Microscopic algae which is suspended in the part of the water column that is penetrated by light.

Algae - the base of the lake's food chain, it also produces oxygen.

microscopic aquatic plants living in both fresh and salt water; plant portion of plankton that floats free and contains many species of algae and diatoms. Phytoplankton are the creatures that form the basis of food for all other forms of aquatic life.

Planktonic life forms which can photosynthesise. These are mostly single celled plants.

A þoating layer of photosynthetic organisms, including algae, that are an important source of atmospheric oxygen and form the base of the aquatic food chain.

A community of aquatic photosynthetic species (mainly microscopic) that drift or swim weakly through water. As producers, they are the start of nearly all food webs in aquatic habitats.

Photosynthesizing organisms (plant forms) of plankton, including single-celled algae such as diatoms. Oysters feed by filtering phytoplankton from the water.

Microscopic, single celled, drifting photosynthesizers not able to swim against currents.

Small hydrosphere plant organisms, at the bottom of the oceanic food chain.

Microscopic plant life passively floating on ocean currents.

small, aquatic, floating plant life.

(fy´ tow plangk´ ton) [Gr. phyton: plant + planktos: wandering] • The autotrophic portion of the plankton, consisting mostly of algae.

microscopic photosynthetic members of the plankton; plankton being free-floating, usually minute organisms.

Diverse group of minute plants that drift freely within the water column. close window

The plant portion of the plankton. See also plankton. [Gk. phyto, plant + planktos, wandering.

plankton consisting of plant life

Microscopic plant-life which drifts in water.

microscopic plants that live in water bodies; since phytoplankton depend upon certain conditions for growth, they are a good indicator of change in their environment

Minute plants, usually algae, that live suspended in bodies of water and that drift about because they cannot move by themselves or because they are too small or too weak to swim effectively against a current.

Tiny floating plants that are eaten by minute animals, fish larvae, and other larger organisms.

are minute forms of plant life in the oceans at the base of the marine food chain.

One of two groups into which plankton are divided, the other being zooplankton. Phytoplankton comprise all the freely floating photosynthetic forms in the oceans, i.e. they are free-floating microscopic plants which, having little mobility, are distributed by ocean currents. Most marine phytoplankton are found in one of five Phyla: Cyanophyta, Chrysophyta, Chlorophyta, Cryptophyta, and Pyrrophyta. See Johnson (1957) and Riley and Chester (1971).

the plant plankton and primary producers in aquatic ecosystems

Small photosynthetic plant organisms in the aquatic environment.

Plant plankton. Microscopic free-swimming or suspended marine or freshwater plants within the plankton. Plankton is defined as being those organisms that inhabit the upper regions of a body of water, but cannot move about against the influence of water movements such as currents, they move generally with the water although may be able to move small distances. Phytoplankton includes diatoms and other photosynthetic algae, a crucial part of almost all aquatic food webs.

Usually microscopic aquatic plants, sometimes consisting of only one cell.

microscopic photosynthetic protists (e.g., bacteria and algae). They form the basis of freshwater and marine food webs and are the main producers in the open ocean.

small plants that float or drift in great numbers in fresh or salt water, especially at or near the surface. These serve as food for many larger organisms. (Compare to zooplankton.) photosynthetic or plant constituent of plankton; mainly unicellular algae. (Compare to zooplankton.)

floating plants or plant-like photosynthetic single cellular organisms

Microscopic plants that float on surface water in the aquatic systems and are the primary producers of the food chain/web in the ocean. These include algae, diatoms and dinoflagellates.

food-making plant organisms, at the bottom of the oceanic food chain.

the community of predominantly single cell plants inhabiting the water mass

is a mix of autotrophic vegetable organisms that includes microalgae (microscopic single-cell algae), which are the first link in the food chain.

Microscopic floating plant life like algae and certain seagrasses.

Small, often microscopic, aquatic plants.

Free-floating flora that convert inorganic compounds into complex organic compounds. This process of primary productivity supports the pelagic food-chain. Phytoplankton vary in size from less than 1 to serveral hundred µm.

small single-celled algae that are commonly found suspended in the water column and provide the first step in the food chain of an aquatic system.

very small, free-floating plants found in water bodies.

Tiny microscopic plants found drifting in seawater.

small or microscopic photosynthetic organisms that float or drift in great numbers in fresh or salt water near the surface and are the base of the ocean food chain

A type of plant plankton, such as algae, that is the basic food source in many aquatic and marine ecosystems.

Algae floating in the water column. These are mostly microscopic single-celled and colonial forms.

Free floating microscopic organisms that photosynthesize (includes both algae and cyanobacteria).

Microscopic and macroscopic floating or drifting plant life including algae

Microscopic photosynthesizing organisms that drift with the currents.

the microscopic plant component of plankton.

microscopic plants found in the water. Algae or one-celled (phytoplankton) or multicellular plants either suspended in water (Plankton) or attached to rocks and other substrates (periphyton). Their abundance, as measured by the amount of chlorophyll a (green pigment) in an open water sample, is commonly used to classify the trophic status of a lake. Numerous species occur. Algae are an essential part of the lake ecosystem and provides the food base for most lake organisms, including fish. Phytoplankton populations vary widely from day to day, as life cycles are short.

The component of plankton consisting of microscopic plants.

Very small plants that float or drift in lakes.

Small photosynthetic organisms, mostly algae and bacteria, found inhabiting aquatic ecosystems. Also see plankton and zooplankton.

Tiny, free-floating, photosynthetic organisms in aquatic systems. They include diatoms, desmids, and dinoflagellates.

Microscopic aquatic vegetative life; plant portion of the plankton; the plant communities that float free in the water and contains many species of algae and diatoms.

Green plants (for example algae) inhabiting waters, unattached and drifting with the currents.

These are microscopic one-celled organisms, found free-floating in the upper layer of the oceans. Next to bacteria, these are the most numerous organisms on earth. Phytoplankton photosynthesize, and together with seaweed, are responsible for about 85% of the world's photosynthesis. Phytoplankton are eaten by microscopic consumers known as zooplankton.

Literally plant plankton, from the Greek, futon ( phyton), "plant", and planktos ( planktos), "to wander or drift". Generally, 63-153 µm long.

Phytoplankton are the autotrophic component of the plankton that drift in the water column. The name comes from the Greek terms, phyton or "plant" and πλαγκτος ("planktos"), meaning "wanderer" or "drifter". Most phytoplankton are too small to be individually seen with the unaided eye.