Picoplankton

Picoplankton is the fraction of plankton composed by cells between 0.2 and 2 μm that can be either :

• photosynthetic
  Main article: Photosynthetic picoplankton
• heterotrophic
  Main article: Heterotrophic picoplankton

Some species can also be mixotrophic. Picoplankton are responsible for the most primary productivity in oligotrophic gyres, and are distinguished from nanoplankton and microplankton.^[1] Because they are small, they have a greater surface to volume ratio, enabling them to obtain the scarce nutrients in these ecosystems. Note that the SI prefix pico- is used quite loosely here, as nanoplankton and microplankton are only 10 and 100 times larger, respectively.

See also

Plankton#Size_groups.

References

1. ^ Alexander Vershinin. "Phytoplankton in the Black Sea". Russian Federal Children Center Orlyonok. http://blacksea-education.ru/phytoplankton.shtml. 

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