Zooplankton

• Page authors: Camille Richon
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Conceptual definition

Zooplankton are secondary producers and form the base of many ocean food webs. They are composed of thousands of species from different taxa, encompassing all animals unable to swim against currents. They span a large size range from invisible larvae and animals (a few µm) to macrozooplankton (e.g. Jellyfish).

Zooplankton play a fundamental role for ocean's ecological and biogeochemical equilibrium. As primary consumers, they regulate phytoplankton biomass and play a major role in blooms phenology. Additionally, they are key players in nutrient cycling and carbon export. Thus, zooplankton can be seen as a key link between lower and higher trophics levels, as well as between the surface and the deep ocean.

Subfield notes

Models

In biogeochemical models, zooplankton is often represented using one or two size classes. Some models may represent up to a dozen size classes (Clerc et al., 2023, Ward et al., 2012).

Specific habitat models exist for some species or clades (Benedetti et al., 2021).