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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 24, 2026

An Ultra-clean Multilayer Apparatus for Collecting Size Fractionated Marine Plankton and Suspended Particles

An Ultra-clean Multilayer Apparatus for Collecting Size Fractionated Marine Plankton and Suspended Particles

Published on: April 19, 2018

Plankton distribution and ocean dispersal.

Margaret Anne McManus¹, C Brock Woodson

¹Department of Oceanography, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. mamc@hawaii.edu

The Journal of Experimental Biology

|February 24, 2012

Summary

Life in plankton involves balancing organism behavior with water movement. Understanding small-scale interactions reveals how plankton form larger aggregations, impacting marine ecosystems.

Area of Science:

Marine Biology
Oceanography
Ecology

Background:

Plankton are vital microscopic organisms inhabiting aquatic environments.
Their distribution and survival depend on the interplay between their behavior and surrounding water dynamics.
Understanding plankton at various scales is crucial for comprehending marine ecosystem function.

Purpose of the Study:

To review the balance between plankton behavior and environmental factors.
To explore plankton interactions across different size scales, from viruses to zooplankton.
To elucidate how small-scale interactions influence large-scale plankton distribution and retention.

Main Methods:

Review of existing research on plankton behavior and environmental interactions.
Analysis of plankton dynamics across multiple spatial scales (microscopic to oceanic).

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Streamlined Sampling and Cultivation of the Pelagic Cosmopolitan Larvacean, Oikopleura dioica

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Published on: June 16, 2020

Visualizing Oceanographic Data to Depict Long-term Changes in Phytoplankton

Visualizing Oceanographic Data to Depict Long-term Changes in Phytoplankton

Published on: July 28, 2023

Examination of the relationship between physical water characteristics and plankton aggregation.

Main Results:

Plankton distribution patterns are significantly influenced by individual organism-environment interactions.
Smaller-scale behaviors dictate larger-scale distributions in coastal and oceanic regions.
Plankton aggregations are mechanistically linked to organism responses to physical forces.

Conclusions:

The physical environment profoundly shapes plankton behavior and aggregation.
Understanding micro-scale interactions is key to predicting macro-scale plankton distributions.
Plankton behavior in response to environmental cues directly impacts marine ecosystem functioning and nutrient cycling.