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PHYTOPLANKTON
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Photosynthetic or plant constituent of plankton; mainly unicellular algae
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("phytoplankton" is a kind of...):
flora; plant; plant life ((botany) a living organism lacking the power of locomotion)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "phytoplankton"):
planktonic algae (unicellular algae)
diatom (microscopic unicellular marine or freshwater colonial alga having cell walls impregnated with silica)
Holonyms ("phytoplankton" is a member of...):
plankton (the aggregate of small plant and animal organisms that float or drift in great numbers in fresh or salt water)
Context examples:
The blooms occur when phytoplankton grow rapidly, sometimes producing toxins that can sicken marine mammals and other species.
(Scientists discover genetic basis for how harmful algae blooms become toxic, National Science Foundation)
The research also helps answer another question: why phytoplankton growth declined during the 2013-2016 El Niño, while giant kelp flourished.
(Giant kelp switches diet when key nutrient becomes scarce, National Science Foundation)
A report by a team from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa (UH Mānoa) and the University of Southern California (USC), say the eruption of the Kīlauea volcano last year has been followed by a dramatic increase in the population of phytoplankton, also called green algae, in the waters surrounding the island.
(Scientists report skyrocketing phyotplankton population in aftermath of Kīlauea eruption, Wikinews)
Less nitrogen available in the warmer surface water diminished phytoplankton growth, while giant kelp growth was steady, thanks to urea as a nutrient source.
(Giant kelp switches diet when key nutrient becomes scarce, National Science Foundation)
