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What are zooplankton?

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A - Tiny little zoos that fish visit in the weekend

B - Tiny little sea creatures that live near the surface of the sea

C - Tiny little plants in the sea

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What are zooplankton?

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What are phytoplankton? (US National Ocean Service )


Activities

Draw and explore: A food chain

Watch the video again. Who eats who? See if you can make a list.

Include the words: phytoplankton (tiny plants), zooplankton (tiny animals) and marlin!

What other words can you add in? You might want to decorate your list with drawings.

Offshore

 

At a distance from the seashore, but still in sight of land.

Upwelling

 

When deep, cold water rises to the surface to replace warmer surface water which is blown by the wind. This cold water is usually rich in nutrients.

Zooplankton

 

A group of plankton that feed on phytoplankton. Most zooplankton are so tiny they are only visible through a microscope but some are larger, such as jellyfish.

Phytoplankton

 

Tiny creatures that live in the top layer of the ocean, making food out of the sun’s rays. They are very important because they form the bottom of the food chain. Other animals such as whales, shrimp, snails, and jellyfish eat them.

Microscopic

 

Too small to be seen with the eye, but large enough to be seen under a microscope (a useful tool that makes tiny things appear bigger).

Marlin

 

Marlin, or takaketonga in Māori, are a large fish which lives in warm seas, and which many fishermen catch for sport. It has a streamlined body and a long, pointed, snout or bill.

Sunfish

 

The ocean sunfish, or Rātāhuihui in Māori, is the heaviest known bony fish in the world with adults weighing between 247 and 1,000 kg. Another name for sunfish is Mola mola.

Food chain

 

A food chain shows how each living thing gets food and how nutrients and energy are passed from creature to creature. Food chains start with plant life and end with animal life.

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