EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -The word “plankton” comes from the Greek for “drifter” or “wanderer.” An organism is considered plankton if it is carried by tides and currents, and cannot swim well enough to move against these forces. Some plankton drift this way for their entire life cycle.

Detailed explanation-2: -Abstract. Advection by ocean currents modifies phytoplankton size structure at small scales (1–10 cm) by aggregating cells in different regions of the flow depending on their size. This effect is caused by the inertia of the cells relative to the displaced fluid.

Detailed explanation-3: -Some plankton, like these jellyfish, salps, or sea gooseberries, drift all their lives. Others like pteropod molluscs and fish are only planktonic during their embryonic or larval life. When they reach adulthood, they settle or swim freely.

Detailed explanation-4: -Plankton are defined to be living creatures that do not overcome prevailing currents with their own motility and can therefore be taken as “swept along in physical water mass.