Editing Plankton (section)

==Habitat groups==

===Marine plankton===
Marine plankton includes [[Marine prokaryotes|marine bacteria and archaea]], [[algae]], [[protozoa]] and drifting or floating animals that inhabit the saltwater of oceans and the brackish waters of estuaries.

===Freshwater plankton===
Freshwater plankton are similar to marine plankton, but are found inland in the freshwaters of lakes and rivers.

===Aeroplankton===
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File:Ocean mist and spray 2.jpg|[[Sea spray]] containing [[marine microorganisms]] can be swept high into the atmosphere and may travel the globe as [[aeroplankton]] before falling back to earth.
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{{main|Aeroplankton}}

[[Aeroplankton]] are tiny lifeforms that float and drift in the air, carried by the [[Air current|current]] of the [[wind]]; they are the [[atmospheric]] [[analogy (biology)|analogue]] to oceanic plankton. Most of the living things that make up aeroplankton are very small to [[Microscope|microscopic]] in size, and many can be difficult to identify because of their tiny size. Scientists can collect them for study in traps and sweep nets from [[aircraft]], kites or balloons.<ref>A. C. Hardy and P. S. Milne (1938) Studies in the Distribution of Insects by Aerial Currents. Journal of Animal Ecology, 7(2):199-229</ref> Aeroplankton is made up of numerous [[Microorganism|microbes]], including [[virus]]es, about 1000 different species of [[bacteria]], around 40,000 varieties of [[Fungus|fungi]], and hundreds of species of [[protist]]s, [[algae]], [[moss]]es and [[Marchantiophyta|liverworts]] that live some part of their life cycle as aeroplankton, often as [[spore]]s, [[pollen]], and wind-scattered [[seed]]s. Additionally, peripatetic microorganisms are swept into the air from terrestrial dust storms, and an even larger amount of airborne marine microorganisms are propelled high into the atmosphere in sea spray. Aeroplankton deposits hundreds of millions of airborne viruses and tens of millions of bacteria every day on every square meter around the planet.

The [[sea surface microlayer]], compared to the sub-surface waters, contains elevated concentration of [[bacteria]] and [[viruses]].<ref name=Liss2005>{{cite book | last=Liss | first=P. S. | title=The sea surface and global change | publisher=Cambridge University Press | publication-place=Cambridge New York | year=1997 | isbn=978-0-521-56273-7 | oclc=34933503}}</ref><ref name="blanchard">Blanchard, D.C., 1983. The production, distribution and bacterial enrichment of the sea-salt aerosol. In: Liss, P.S., Slinn, W.G.N. ŽEds.., Air–Sea Exchange of Gases and Particles. D. Reidel Publishing Co., Dordrecht, Netherlands, pp. 407–444.</ref> These materials can be transferred from the sea-surface to the atmosphere in the form of wind-generated aqueous [[aerosol]]s due to their high vapour tension and a process known as [[volatilisation]].<ref name="wallace">Wallace Jr., G.T., Duce, R.A., 1978. Transport of particulate organic matter by bubbles in marine waters. Limnol. Oceanogr. 23 Ž6., 1155–1167.</ref> When airborne, these [[microbes]] can be transported long distances to coastal regions. If they hit land they can have an effect on animal, vegetation and human health.<ref name="WHO">WHO, 1998. Draft guidelines for safe recreational water environments: coastal and fresh waters, draft for consultation. World Health Organization, Geneva, EOSrDRAFTr98 14, pp. 207–299.</ref> Marine aerosols that contain viruses can travel hundreds of kilometers from their source and remain in liquid form as long as the humidity is high enough (over 70%).<ref name="klassen">Klassen, R. D., & Roberge, P. R. (1999). Aerosol transport modeling as an aid to understanding atmospheric corrosivity patterns. Materials & Design, 20, 159–168.</ref><ref name="moorthy">Moorthy, K. K., Satheesh, S. K., & Krishna Murthy, B.V. (1998). Characteristics ofspectral optical depths and size distributions of aerosols over tropical oceanic regions. Journal of Atmospheric and Solar–Terrestrial Physics, 60, 981–992.
</ref><ref>Chow, J. C., Watson, J. G., Green, M. C., Lowenthal, D. H., Bates, B., Oslund, W., & Torre, G. (2000). Cross-border transport and spatial variability of suspended particles in Mexicali and California's Imperial Valley. Atmospheric Environment, 34, 1833–1843.</ref> These aerosols are able to remain suspended in the atmosphere for about 31 days.<ref name="aller">Aller, J., Kuznetsova, M., Jahns, C., Kemp, P. (2005) The sea surface microlayer as a source of viral and bacterial enrichment in marine aerosols. Journal of aerosol science. Vol. 36, pp. 801–812.</ref> Evidence suggests that bacteria can remain viable after being transported inland through aerosols. Some reached as far as 200 meters at 30 meters above sea level.<ref name="marks"/> The process which transfers this material to the atmosphere causes further enrichment in both bacteria and viruses in comparison to either the SML or sub-surface waters (up to three orders of magnitude in some locations).<ref name="marks">Marks, R., Kruczalak, K., Jankowska, K., & Michalska, M. (2001). Bacteria and fungi in air over the GulfofGdansk and Baltic sea. Journal of Aerosol Science, 32, 237–250.</ref>

===Geoplankton===
{{see also|Geoplankton}}

Many animals live in terrestrial environments by thriving in transient often microscopic bodies of water and moisture, these include [[rotifer]]s and [[gastrotrich]]s which lay resilient eggs capable of surviving years in dry environments, and some of which can go dormant themselves. Nematodes are usually microscopic with this lifestyle. Water bears, despite only having lifespans of a few months, famously can enter suspended animation during dry or hostile conditions and survive for decades. This allows them to be ubiquitous in terrestrial environments despite needing water to grow and reproduce. Many microscopic crustacean groups like [[copepod]]s and [[Amphipoda|amphipods]] (of which [[Talitridae|sandhoppers]] are members) and [[Ostracod|seed shrimp]] are known to go dormant when dry and live in transient bodies of water too<ref name=":0" />