What is the Difference between Phytoplankton, Zooplankton and Copepods
There are many such small living creatures present in the water body which are usually not considerable due to their tiny size and no well-defined or familiar structure. Plankton is one those small organisms, but their role in the food chain is very considerable. They are a source of food for many large marine animals like whale and fish. Drifting in fresh water is one of the key characteristics of plankton. There are further many subclasses of plankton and some of them are Phytoplankton, Zooplankton and Copepods. Normally, there looks no difference between Phytoplankton, Zooplankton and Copepods, but it is not. Following few lines will clear the difference between these aquatic animals.
Phytoplankton
Phytoplankton is marine organisms which lie the category of plants. These belong to plankton family and termed as producers in a food chain. They are hardly seen by the naked eye. The special feature of Phytoplankton is the presence of chlorophyll in their cell which make green discoloration of water. This property of Phytoplankton forces them to stay on the uppermost layer of water just to absorb energy for photosynthesis. They absorb carbon dioxide from the sun to make organic compound and evolve very large amount of oxygen collectively.
Zooplankton
Zooplankton also belong to plankton family and lie in the category of tiny marine animals. They consume organic matter for growth and utilize oxygen for respiration. With respect to size, there are various types of Zooplankton like metazoans which are large organisms and protozoans which are smaller one.
Copepods
Copepods are small arthropods which are found abundantly in fresh water or sea water. Being a large group, they found in different environments like swamps, ponds, puddles, bogs, damp moss and terrestrial habitats. The size of Copepods is very small just 1-2 mm. They are sensitive to many metals.
Phytoplankton vs Zooplankton vs Copepods
The key difference between Phytoplankton and Zooplankton is that Phytoplankton is autotrophic in contrast to Zooplankton which are heterotrophic. Moreover, Phytoplankton are plants instead of Zooplankton which are animal. Similarly, another difference between Phytoplankton and Zooplankton is that, the first one consumes carbon dioxide to make organic matter as a food source. However in case of Zooplankton, they consume oxygen. Copepods are different from Phytoplankton and Zooplankton is many respects. Only a few Copepods are plankton and they are visible by naked eyes as well.
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