nanoplanktonn.
/ˈnanə(ʊ)ˌplaŋ(k)tən/, U.S. /ˈnænoʊˌplæŋkt(ə)n/ Biology.
Very small unicellular plankton, at the limits of resolution of light microscopy.
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the world > life > biology > organism > plankton > [noun] > types of
brit1838
limnoplankton1893
zooplankton1897
meroplankton1899
potamoplankton1899
pseudoplankton1899
cryoplankton1902
hypoplankton1902
microplankton1903
haloplankton1909
holoplankton1909
meroplankton1909
nanoplankton1912
neuston1928
aeroplankton1932
staph1933
astroplankton1954
picoplankton1978
1912 J. Murray & J. Hjort Depths of Ocean vi. 356 As far as quantity is concerned, the smallest plankton organisms, Lohmann's Nanno-plankton, play a far more important rôle than the whole of the other species caught in our silk nets.
1939 Nature 7 Oct. 643/1 There was a nannoplankton consisting entirely of very small flagellates.
1959 New Biol. 29 40 Examination of marine nannoplankton, that is the very small plankton organisms which are not retained even by the finest nets, has shown the presence of many colourless forms related to the algae.
1974 B. H. McConnaughey Introd. Marine Biol. (ed. 2) i. 7/1 Nanoplankton is, then, simply a size designation that includes parts of both phytoplankton and zooplankton. Strictly speaking, the term nanoplankton is used for organisms ranging from 5 to 60 μm in size.
1991 R. S. K. Barnes & K. H. Mann Fund. Aquatic Ecol. (ed. 2) ii. 49/1 Heterotrophic nanoplankton consume bacteria (and possibly prochlorophytes) in water.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1912