Plankton is a living, floating mass. It consists of billions of microscopic organisms. This term comes from the Greek language and means "wandering" or "drifting."
Water as a habitat
Among the huge variety of land animaland the plant world is impossible to find organisms that could spend their entire lives in the air. Even skilled flyers, such as swallows, cannot always be worn under the clouds. Indeed, in the period of nesting, incubation of eggs, hatching of chicks, they are tied to the ground, however, like other birds. Yes, the birds are not able to fly forever, they periodically need rest. Exactly the same situation with insects. They spend a relatively short time in the air element. All their most important life processes, such as nutrition, reproduction, development, flow on the ground. Also, the whole world of plants is connected with the earth's surface, ranging from the simplest single-celled and ending with tree species. A completely different relationship with the habitat of aquatic organisms (hydrobios). This is due to the fact that the physical properties of water and air are different. Water has a much greater density and heaviness. It turns out that the lifting force of this medium is greater than that of air. Accordingly, aquatic inhabitants are able to constantly (or, at least, a long period of their life) be suspended in the water column, without contact with the bottom. For such organisms, the support is not the ground, but the water itself. Exactly to such living beings “floating” in the water column, and freely floating or plankton organisms belong. In fact, plankton is a collection of such living beings.
The composition and characteristics of "wandering" organisms
По большей части к планктону относятся весьма small animals and microscopic algae - not many of them can be seen with the naked eye. A characteristic feature of plankton organisms can be called the relatively weakly expressed ability to move independently. Most of them are deprived of any organs responsible for movement, and are in the full sense of the word a toy of waves. Plant plankton owes its incredible lightness to being suspended. Its weight is close to the weight of water, which it displaces. However, animal plankton can contain organisms capable of independent movement. This is explained by the presence of various organs of motion, so that they can swim quite lively. However, this movement is very limited. Microorganisms are not even able to resist the weakest flow of water. And all because the power of their movement is negligible.
How are the organs of motion?
Для начала следует отметить, что животный Plankton are the simplest crustaceans, as well as fish, lobsters and other organisms that are in the embryonic stage. German scientists conducted studies that showed that these animals "hover" in the water is not passive. The crustaceans produce very active movements over short periods of time - they evenly flap their swimming mustaches, like birds floating in the air. The complete inaction of the mentioned antennae will lead to the inevitable lowering of the crustacean to the bottom of the reservoir. By the same principle, other organs of motion in animal plankton act. For example, the rotation apparatus, which is armed with rotifers. In fact, plankton animals can be compared to an airplane that is held in the air thanks to the work of the propeller. With the cessation of rotational motion, they slowly plan and sink to the bottom.
"Buffet"
A very important factor for the survival of an animalplankton is the fact that the original source of food, plant substances that make up the plankton, are scattered in the water mass, and not attached to the bottom of the reservoir. Due to this, animals in abundance find for themselves the necessary food in the elements surrounding them. Algae reserves are able to ensure their existence - this is quite enough for restoring the forces that organisms spend on independent movement necessary for soaring in water space. In addition, plankton (photo above, fully disclose this natural phenomenon) is a very dense mass, which, in turn, serves as a source of food for marine animals and fish. Say, whales are big fans of this high-calorie food and its main consumers.
Conclusion
Summing up, it should be noted that in modernIn the world, the term in question has another meaning - office “plankton”. These are knowledge workers with a reduced creative component. They spend their lives in offices and other offices. Office plankton includes: accountants, secretaries, managers and others. The origin of the offensive epithet is easy to explain: in fact, all these employees are just small fry. "Plankton", in a word.
