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nvs-vocabs / ereefs

A repository for the management of issues related to vocabularies used by the eReefs project.
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Zooplankton/phytoplankton in sediment - alive or dead? #21

Open roswri opened 2 years ago

roswri commented 2 years ago

Large Zooplankton N in Sediment, Large Zooplankton N sediment (model: 'ZooL_N_sed', sensor: '', standard: ''') Small Zooplankton N in Sediment, Small Zooplankton N sediment (model: 'ZooS_N_sed', sensor: '', standard: ''') Large Phytoplankton N in Sediment, Large Phytoplankton N sediment (model: 'PhyL_N_sed', sensor: '', standard: ''') Small Phytoplankton N in Sediment, Small Phytoplankton N sediment (model: 'PhyS_N_sed', sensor: '', standard: ''')

units are Milligrams per cubic metre

Are these parametarised as living or dead zooplankton/phytoplankton in the sediment? We wondered if phyto/zooplakton were the correct terms as they are generally pelagic or on the surface of the seabed rather than within the sediment

markebaird commented 2 years ago

All plankton are alive. If they die they instantaneously become detritus.

gwemon commented 2 years ago

@markebaird we are just intrigued by the use of the term "zooplankton" for organisms found in the sediment. Should that not be zoobenthos (or another term for animals which would normally live in sediments)?

markebaird commented 2 years ago

Zooplankton only grow in the water column. However, as a particle they can be entrained into the sediments by deposition and re-worked within. In the sediments zooplankton are alive, but can't grow. If an erosion event resuspends them into the water column, they will start growing again (adding to the existing zooplankton population in the water column). In the sediments they have a mortality rate, so the concentrations in the sediments remain low.