• Quiz
  • Map
  • Words

What are zooplankton?

Play Sound

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

1679 Likes 40457 Views
Autoplay on
Play Video
Like
Favourite

What are zooplankton?

Play again

Links

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.

Click for more words!
Learn to Draw
Interviews with Experts
Hauraki Gulf
YOE adventures
Riley can't find the ocean here!
Sea of Hope
SeaLegacy's Sea of Hope episode
What are zooplankton?
How do slow down zones work?
Whose skull am I holding?
Name the Māui dolphins cousin
How is a ray like a vacuum cleaner?
Would you eat a paddle crab?
Where did all the kelp go?
Kaitiaki
How do you clean a dirty ocean?
Learn to Draw - Eagle Ray
Meet the humpback whale
Riley finds humpback whales!
How far do little blue penguins swim?
How far do black petrels fly?
Riley explores a coral reef
Kauri & Tohorā
Goat Island
Dolphin Dad jokes
Human Dad jokes
How many marine reserves?
Orca Dad jokes
The incredible Hauraki Gulf
Crayfish Dad jokes
Fish Dad jokes #1
Ways to use less plastic
Learn to Draw - Octopus
Crab Dad jokes
What is in a name?
Whale Dad jokes
Andy Casagrande answers our questions
Fur seal Dad jokes
How to hide in plain sight
Can you hold your breath for 45 secs?
Lots of whales in the gulf?
Can a girl fish become a boy fish?
Stingray Dad jokes
Turtle Dad jokes
What concerns you most about marine pests
South island in the Gulf?
What is a habitat?
Do you have the mana of an orca?
What is a food chain?
Māori games - Community story
Riley confronts a big fear
Which sea animal wears armour to survive?
Little blue penguin eggs
Name your favourite sea bird