Plankton Maureen McNamara

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PlanktonMaureen McNamara Kristen
WeeksWilliams High South Granville High

• The total percentage and variety of plankton
  distribution from tidal creeks to offshore

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Phytoplankton

• multicellular
• microscopic floating plants
• no true roots, stems, or leaves like land
  vegetation
• primary producers
• habitat widespread
• all marine life depends on it

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Zooplankton

• Multicellular
• Consumers
• Drifters
• Includes holoplankton and meroplankton
• Habitat Widespread
• Densely populated
• Connect producers to the higher consumers

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Plankton

• Crab Larvae
• Snail larvae
• Diatom
• Phytoplankton

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Zooplankton Types

• Nauplius
• Meroplankton
• Pregnant Copepod
• Egg sack attatched to the female

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A Mixture of Phyto and Zooplankton
Copepods
Ceratium
Phytoplankton
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Hypothesis I

• Phytoplankton more abundant offshore
• Equal number of zooplankton both inland and
  offshore
• Inland- higher nutrients, low visibility
• Offshore- high visibility, more phytoplankton

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Hypothesis II

• More variety inland due to larval stages
• More holoplankton offshore
• More meroplankton inland

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Location Sites

• Boat House Marina
• Bradley Creek
• Banks Channel
• Masonboro Inlet
• 3 Miles Offshore
• 18 Miles Offshore

MARINA
BANKS
BRADLEY
INLET
18 MILES
3 MILES
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Materials and Methods

• plankton tows
• specimen cup
• refrigerator/alcohol
• microscope-identify
• analyzed data
• made conclusions and comparisons

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Materials
plankton net
secchi disk
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Number of Different Zooplankton Species
of PLANKTONSPECIES
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Percent of Phytoplankton with respect to Depth
and Visibility
DEPTHVISBILITY(m)
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Percentage of Adult and Larval Zooplankton
of p l a n k t o n
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Percent of Phyto and Zooplankton from Inland to
Offshore
of p l a n k t o n
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Conclusions (Phytoplankton)

• Fertilizer run-off could increase phytoplankton
  number in the Banks Channel area
• In the sample sites, visibility was not a factor
  in phytoplankton population

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Conclusions (Zooplankton)

• Zooplankton are not dependent on a single food
  source- better adapted
• Zooplankton vertically migrate due to temperature
  changes, predation, and tidal currents

Zooplankton from the inlandandoffshore mix. This
happens partially due to the tides. The mixing
causes more diversity and a greater total
percentage of plankton.