What keeps phytoplankton from sinking?
Plankton avoid sinking by increasing their surface area and/or decreasing their density. In addition, water currents caused by convection and upwelling can stir the water and help keep plankton from sinking (MARE, 1995).Click to see full answer. In this regard, what adaptations do plankton have to avoid sinking?Because phytoplankton are tiny, they don’t weigh very…
Plankton avoid sinking by increasing their surface area and/or decreasing their density. In addition, water currents caused by convection and upwelling can stir the water and help keep plankton from sinking (MARE, 1995).Click to see full answer. In this regard, what adaptations do plankton have to avoid sinking?Because phytoplankton are tiny, they don’t weigh very much and they have a large surface area relative to their volume, which helps them float. Adaptations such as spines increase the surface area even more and prevent phytoplankton from sinking too fast.Secondly, why does plankton go down in the water column? Explain why a plankton would want to go up and down in the water column. It is caused by diurnal migration. Plankton would go down in the mornings because that is when their predators hunt for food, near the photic zone. They would go up at night, when their predators have left the photic zone. Furthermore, how do phytoplankton stay afloat? Most of the plankton in the ocean are plants. Plankton have evolved many different ways to keep afloat. Spikes, like those on a radiolarian, help to distribute its weight over a large surface area and slowing its sinking. Many organisms, such as copepods and diatoms, produce oil to keep them afloat.What do zooplankton accumulate to help them float?Many zooplankton need to stay in the same zone because the phytoplankton are their food source. Tiny movements of their appendages can propel them and keep them in the food-filled zone of the ocean. Some zooplankton also rely on accumulating tiny amounts of oils, whch help serve as floatation.
