zooplankton

noun

zoo·plank·ton ˌzō-ə-ˈplaŋ(k)-tən

-ˌtän

plural zooplankton also zooplanktons

: freely floating or weakly swimming typically minute aquatic protozoans and animals (such as copepods, rotifers, and arrow worms) or the eggs or larvae of aquatic animals (such as anemones, mollusks, and fish) : plankton composed of animals

… numerous varieties of adult gamefish depend on zooplankton for a substantial portion of their diets throughout their lives.—

Byron W. Dalrymple

Phytoplankton exhale life-giving oxygen and are consumed as food by zooplankton and small fish, which, in turn, are eaten by larger fish.—

Kenneth R. Weiss

Right whales eat zooplankton, which are tiny creatures that float along in the water column, by straining huge amounts of sea water through their baleen.—

Wendall Waters

compare phytoplankton

zooplanktonic

ˌzō-ə-ˌplaŋ(k)-ˈtä-nik

adjective

zooplanktonic organisms

Examples of zooplankton in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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The zooplankton’s natural behavior also helps drive this process. —

Scott Travers, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024 The challenge was finding a way to get zooplankton to chomp on the carbon before it was released — first into the ocean, then ultimately back into the atmosphere. —

Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 10 Dec. 2024 Bighead carp also eat zooplankton too, thinning the diet of native fish. —

Keenan Thomas, The Tennessean, 25 Mar. 2024 The team hypothesized that the zooplankton might play a role in clearing up dirty water. —

Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 3 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for zooplankton