meroplankton
Dictionary:
mer·o·plank·ton (mĕr'ə-plăngk'tən) 
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n.
Any of various organisms that spend part of their life cycle, usually the larval or egg stages, as plankton.
meroplanktonic mer'o·plank·ton'ic (-tŏn'ĭk) adj.
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Meroplankton are organisms that are planktonic for only a part of their life cycles, usually the larval stage. Examples of meroplankton include the larvae of sea urchins, sea stars, crustaceans, marine worms, some marine gastropods and most fish.
After a period of time in the plankton, meroplankton either graduate to the nekton or adopt a benthic (often sessile) lifestyle on the seafloor.
See also
The larval stages of oysters.
Sources
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Meroplankton". Read more |
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