Plankton life

The book is part of a course of lectures on hydrobiology given by the author to students of the Department of Hydrobiology of the Faculty of Biology and interns at the International Biotechnology Centre of Moscow State University.Plankton is a set of organisms that live in the water column and are linked together by trophic and metabolic relationships. Algae produce organic matter. Zooplankton eat up the algae and thus reduce their numbers. By releasing metabolites it stimulates their development. Zooplankton in turn provide food for fish and large invertebrates. The bacteria respectively mineralize organic matter. The whole set of processes going on in water bodies consisting of photosynthesis consumption and mineralization of organic matter resulting in the transformation of matter and energy transfer from one trophic level to another are intimately linked. It is these main processes that unite the planktonic community into a single whole determine the efficiency of energy utilization and the speed of the biotic cycle.