Meroplankton are a wide variety of aquatic organisms which have both planktonic and benthic stages in their life cycles. Much of the meroplankton consists of larval stages of larger organism.[1] Meroplankton can be contrasted with holoplankton, which are planktonic organisms that stay in the pelagic zone as plankton throughout their entire life cycle.[2]
After a period of time in the plankton, many meroplankton graduate to the nekton or adopt a benthic (often sessile) lifestyle on the seafloor. The larval stages of benthic invertebrates make up a significant proportion of planktonic communities.[3] The planktonic larval stage is particularly crucial to many benthic invertebrate in order to disperse their young. Depending on the particular species and the environmental conditions, larval or juvenile-stage meroplankton may remain in the pelagic zone for durations ranging from hour to months.[1]
Not all meroplankton are larvae or juvenile stages of larger organisms. Many dinoflagellates are meroplanktonic, undergoing a seasonal cycle of encystment and dormancy in the benthic zone followed by excystment and reproduction in the pelagic zone before returning to the benthic zone once more.[4][5] There also exist meroplanktonic diatoms; these have a seasonal resting phase below the photic zone and can be found commonly amongst the benthos of lakes and coastal zones.[6]
^ abStübner, E. I.; Søreide, J. E. (2016-01-27). "Year-round meroplankton dynamics in high-Arctic Svalbard". Journal of Plankton Research. 38 (3): 522–536. doi:10.1093/plankt/fbv124.
^"Plankton". Britannica. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
^Ershova, E. A.; Descoteaux, R. (2019-08-13). "Diversity and Distribution of Meroplanktonic Larvae in the Pacific Arctic and Connectivity With Adult Benthic Invertebrate Communities". Frontiers in Marine Science. 6. doi:10.3389/fmars.2019.00490. hdl:10037/16483. S2CID 199638114.
^Morquecho, Lourdes; Lechuga-Devéze, Carlos H. (2004-01-01). "Seasonal occurrence of planktonic dinoflagellates and cyst production in relationship to environmental variables in subtropical Bahı´a Concepción, Gulf of California". Botanica Marina. 47 (4). doi:10.1515/BOT.2004.037. ISSN 0006-8055. S2CID 85192840.
^Kremp, A. (2013), Lewis, J. M.; Marret, F.; Bradley, L. R. (eds.), "Diversity of dinoflagellate life cycles: facets and implications of complex strategies", Biological and Geological Perspectives of Dinoflagellates, Geological Society of London, pp. 197–205, doi:10.1144/tms5.18, ISBN 978-1-86239-368-4, retrieved 2020-06-13
^Lashaway, A. R.; Carrick, H. J. (2010-04-01). "Effects of light, temperature and habitat quality on meroplanktonic diatom rejuvenation in Lake Erie: implications for seasonal hypoxia". Journal of Plankton Research. 32 (4): 479–490. doi:10.1093/plankt/fbp147. ISSN 0142-7873.
Meroplankton are a wide variety of aquatic organisms which have both planktonic and benthic stages in their life cycles. Much of the meroplankton consists...
(e.g. most algae, copepods, salps, and some jellyfish). By contrast, meroplankton are only planktic for part of their lives (usually the larval stage)...
current) for their entire life cycle. Holoplankton can be contrasted with meroplankton, which are planktic organisms that spend part of their life cycle in...
nanoflagellates, dinoflagellates, ciliates, rotifers, a diverse range of meroplankton animal larvae, and two groups of crustaceans, namely copepods and cladocerans...
inhabits both freshwater and marine habitats. Melosira is considered as meroplankton, as they remain free-floating like planktons for a certain stage in their...
invertebrates, plankton and those with a planktonic stage in their development (meroplankton) were most impacted by the K–Pg extinction event, and plankton populations...
of most other marine gastropods, whose veliger larvae are part of the meroplankton, but who leave the plankton once they reach adult form. Lalli, Carol...
hosts three forms of Acartia clausi, as well as Centropages ponticus, meroplankton and larvae of gastropoda, bivalvia and polychaete. Benthos species reside...
nanoflagellates, dinoflagellates, ciliates, rotifers, a diverse range of meroplankton animal larvae, and two groups of crustaceans, namely copepods and cladocerans...
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