Phytoplankton are the plant-like organisms of the sea that carry out photosynthesis

  PHYTOPLANKTON

  

WE CAN SEE THEM Phytoplankton are the plant-like

• organisms of the sea that carry out photosynthesis

  microscopic single celled organisms or

  Ultraplankton < 2 m

  Plankton: Defnitions

• Size classes

  

Phytoplankton

_{• Pigments}

• – Often used to categorize phytoplankton

  _{– All photosynthetic algae possess photosynthetic}

  _pigments.
• Chlorophylls - Chla in all algae; also b and c (absorb blue,

  Absorption spectra for diferent algal pigments

  Major Taxa of the Phytoplankton

• Prokaryotes _{Blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) Other eubacteria (purple sulfur bacteria) }

  Cyanobacteria

• • Includes many of the

  _{foaters (lagoon scum) picoplankton, and}

  Cyanobacteria Diatoms (Bacillariophyta)

• Have silica shells appear in

  Diatoms

  Diatom Skeletons (tests) Centric ^Pennate

  

Nitzschia pungens (domoic

acid) Caused amnesic self

  

Coccolithophores (Prymnesiophytes) Coccolithophorid bloom of Newfoundland

  Chlorophytes

• Green in color (a and b)
• Rare in the ocean (most in fresh

  Dinofagellates

• Motile (2 fagellae), can have a test (cellulose- _like)

  Dinofagellates

  

Pfesteria

Toxic dinofagellate

  

Paralyti Dinofagellate Red Tide

  Dinofagellate Symbionts

• Many cnidaria

  (corals, anenomes)

  

Dinofagellates (Pyrrhophyta)

  Dinofagellates

• Many distinct forms