I. Kingdom Monera: cells simple and unspecialised;
single cells, some in groups or chains.
A. Bacteria: single cells in chains or groups; autotrophic and heterotrophic;
aerobic and anaerobic; important as a food source and in decomposition.
B. Cyanobacteria: blue-green algae; autotrophic single cells in
chains or groups; produce som red blooms in the sea; phytoplankton.
II. Kingdom Protista: grouping of microscopic
and mostly single-celled organisms; autotrophs (algae) and heterotrophs
(protozoa).
A Phylum Chrysophyta: golden-brown algae; yellow to golden autotrophic
single cells in groups or chains; contributing to deep-sea sediments; phytoplankton.
B Phylum Pyrrophyta: fire algae; single cells with flagella, producing
most red tides; bioluminescence common; usually considered phytoplankton.
1. Class Dinophyceae: dinoflagellates
C Phylum Sarcodina: radiolarians, foraminiferans, zooplankton.
D. Phylum Ciliophora: ciliates; zooplankton
III. Kingdom Plantae: plants, primarily nonmotile,
multicellular photosynthetic autotrophs.
A: Division Phaeophyta: brown algae;
Sargassum: maintains a planktonic habit in the Sargasso Sea.
IV Kingdom Animalia: animals; multicellular
heterotrophs with specialised cells, tissues and organ systems; zooplankton
(holoplankton= 'whole' always plankton). For temporary members of the zooplankton
(meroplankton= larvae of sessile organisms), see Meroplankton below.
A Phylum Coelenterata or Cnidaria: radially symmetrical with
tentacles and stinging cells.
1. Class Hydrozoa: jellyfish as one stage in the life cycle, including
such colonial forms as the Portuguese man-of-war.
2. Class Scyphozoa: jellyfish
B Phylum Ctenophora: comb jellies, translucent, moving with cilia;
often bioluminescent.
C Phylum Chaetognatha: arrowworms, free-swimming carnivorous worms.
D Phylum Mollusca: mollusks, the snail-like pteropods.
E Phylum Arthropoda: animals with paired, jointed appendages and
hard outer skeletons
1. Class Crustacea: copepods and euphausiids.
F Phylum Chordata: animals including vertebrates with dorsal nerve
cord and gill slits at some stage in development.
1. Subphylum Urochordata: saclike adults with 'tadpole' larvae;
salps.
Meroplankton: larval forms from the phyla Annelida (dsegmented
worms), Mollusca (shellfish and snails), Echinodermata (starfish
and sea urchins) and Chordata (fish).