OCS 1005 Chapter : OCS November 8th
15 Mar 2019
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Document Summary
Nektons are bigger animals with muscles that can migrate in the water column. In plankton there are three functional groups that don"t have muscles and go with the flow. They can move up and down but they"re limited. Plankton drift with currents, weak swimmers are best. Holoplankton: spend whole life in plankton meroplankton: spend part of life in plankton. Schooling: big behavioral adaptation we see in pelagic. Challenges to life in pelagic zone: need to maintain position in epilegic zone and no place to hide from visual predators. How to keep from sinking: increased drag (flat and spines), increased buoyancy (gas floats or fat droplets), and swim (cilia and appendages) Vertical migration: phytoplankton are at the surface but animals wait until night to feed to protect them from predators. If your predator is doing the same type of migration, it can be switched. Dial vertical migration and reverse dial vertical migration. They also go to surface to lay eggs.
