Plankton isolation / Classification
- 1. Presented By Sushil Kumar Departement of Botany , Institute of Science Banaras Hindu University
- 2. INTRODUCTION Organisms that are free-floating or found in the water column (i.e. pelagic) but are unable to swim against typical currents , generally small • Neuston = plankton living at or just below the water surface (e.g. Bacterial film) • Pleuston = plankton that live at the surface but protrude into the air (e.g. Portuguese Man O’War) •Nekton = pelagic animals that are powerful enough swimmers to move at will in the water column, under most conditions (e.g. fish, dolphins, squid) Benthos = organisms living on or in the bottom (in the subtidal zone) Plankton, from Greek word for ‘drifter’ or ‘wanderer
- 3. Zooplankton Phylum : Arthropoda Subphylum: Crustacea Cladocerans (4 orders) • most with calcareous shell (usually clear) • Holoplankton Polyphemus Daphnia pulex
- 4. Zooplankton Phylum: Arthropoda Subphylum :Crustacea • mostly marine, also few, terrestrial •~50,000 spp. Copepods – (> 10,000 spp.) most abundant animals in oceans mostly holoplankton (some parasitic) swim with antennae, thoracic legs, or mouthparts. Candacia
- 5. Zooplankton Phylum Nematoda (roundworms) • small, unsegmented, smooth; bilateral symmetry • mostly benthic • move via ‘lashing’ movement (wiggling motion) • no planktonic larvae • ~12,000 spp.
- 6. Phytoplankton - Dinoflagellates Kingdom Protista Division Dinophyta (Gr. dinos: whirling; L. flagellum: whip) (=Pyrrophyta) (Gr. pyros: fire, and phyton: plant) – refers to bioluminescence of many forms • most have 2 flagella • may be armored (thecate) or Ceratium
- 7. Phytoplankton – Diatoms •Pennate (L. pinnatus: feathered) – elongate; bilaterally symmetric pinnate refers to markings on walls of some of these forms Cymbella affinis Pseudo-nitzschia cleaned frustule of pennate diatom
- 8. Why are plankton important? Important part of global carbon cycle Food source (basis of the food web) Producer of oxygen (photosynthesis) 8
- 9. Plankton are an energy source for Marine Ecosystems Many plankton are primary producers Over 90 % of Marine Primary Production (energy produced) is from Phytoplankton! The rest is from marine plants and other sources. 9 Satellite view: Map Productivity in the Ocean Photo:NOAA
- 10. How are plankton studied? Collected with special nets and sampling bottles Underwater cameras Microscopes Satellites 10 Plankton collection using Net in a pond Van Dorn Bottle
- 11. Do organisms spend their entire lives as Plankton? Holoplankton spend their entire life cycle as plankton. i.e.- Dinoflagellates, Diatoms and Krill Meroplankton : spend part of life as plankton i.e. 11 Diatom (Unicellular phytoplankton) Photo: Rolf Gradinger, NOAA/OER
- 12. How are phytoplankton different from zooplankton? Phytoplankton Producers Single cells or chains of cells including the smallest plankton – picoplankton (0.2 -2 microns) Remain near the surface Zooplankton Consumers (including herbivores and carnivores) Include microscopic and macroscopic organisms May vertically migrate (to a depth of 200m) during the day for protection but resurface at night to feed 12
- 13. Steps of Plankton isolation Selection of source:marine or fresh water body-(Sainta Cruz Wetland) Collection : using nets Filtration - different sizes of filters / bolting cloth Planktons concentration Observation (preliminary) Staining(Rose bengal Dye) Observation under Stereo microscope/microscope
- 14. Planktons Counting Cell Wiggling motion
- 15. Plankton Taxonomy Phytoplankton groups can be categorized according to size and taxonomic features. Size category Linear size (µm)- Picoplankton - 0.2 – 2 Nanoplankton - 2 - 20 Microplankton - 20 - 200 Macroplankton - > 200
- 16. Special Thanks to my Prof. Sandeep Kumar Melhotra
- 17. Thank You