Monday, March 21, 2011

Differences between phytoplankton and zooplankton

Basic difference: Phytoplanktons are aquatic plants and produce energy. They have the capability to covert solar energy into chemical energy. While zooplanktons are sea animals and they feed on phytoplankton. Diatoms and algae are two types of phytoplankton that are commonly found. Small fish or crustaceans are examples of zooplankton.



Difference in food habits: As phytoplankton is a plant, it is natural that they make their own food by the process of photosynthesis. On the other hand, zooplankton depends on the phytoplankton and other particulate that is found in the seawater for food. Phytoplankton is the primary source of food for the zooplankton.



Oxygen: Phytoplankton releases a lot of oxygen into the atmosphere through the process of photosynthesis as they are plants. However, zooplankton cannot produce oxygen like phytoplankton.

3 comments:

  1. Are zooplankton and phytoplankton the only two categories of plankton?

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  2. Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?

    ReplyDelete