Neuston

Neuston
Two water striders, common neustons

Neuston is the collective term for the organisms that float on the top of water (epineuston) or live right under the surface (hyponeuston). Neustons are made up of some species of fish (see flying fish[1]), beetles (see whirligig beetle), protozoans, bacteria and spiders (see fishing spider and diving bell spider). A water strider is a common example that skips across water's surface tension.

Contents

Other uses of the word

By extension, the term may also refer to non-organismal floating aggregations (see, e.g., Great Pacific Garbage Patch).

Contrasts with other aquatic life

A flying fish

Contrast the terms plankton (the organisms that float or drift within the water), nekton (the organisms that swim (powerfully) in the water), and benthos (the organisms on the bottom of a body of water).

Neuston is sometimes refers to only that subset of floating organisms that are microscopic[2] or those that rely on surface tension to float.[3] The term pleuston refers to superset including those organisms that float by bouyancy or are macroscopic.

Etymology

The term neuston is rooted in the Greek adjective νευστός neustós ("the swimming") derived from the verb νεύειν neúein ("to incline").

References

  1. ^ The Sea Surface and Global Change by P. S. Liss, Robert A. Duce
  2. ^ P. S. Liss, W. George N. Slinn. Air-sea exchange of gases and particles. pp. 148. ISBN 90-277-1610-2. 
  3. ^ James H. Thorp, Alan P. Covich. Ecology and classification of North American freshwater invertebrates. pp. 34. ISBN 0-12-690647-5. 

External links

Darlingtonia californica.jpg Biology portal
 Aquatic ecosystems – general and freshwater components
General
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Freshwater
Ecoregions

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • neuston — neustón s. n. (sil. neus ) Trimis de siveco, 10.08.2004. Sursa: Dicţionar ortografic  NEUSTÓN s.n. Organisme microscopice, vegetale şi animale, care colorează suprafaţa apelor. [< germ. Neuston, cf. gr. neustos – care înoată]. Trimis de… …   Dicționar Român

  • neuston — ● neuston nom masculin (grec neuston, de neustos, qui nage) Ensemble des organismes vivants, généralement très petits, qui vivent habituellement au dessus ou au dessous du film de surface des eaux calmes …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • neuston — neùstōn m <G neustóna> DEFINICIJA ekol. zajednica vodenih organizama na površini mirne vode (alge, kukci, ličinke i niži račići) ETIMOLOGIJA njem. Neuston ← grč. neustós: plivajući ≃ neȋn: plivati …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • neuston — (Del gr. νευστόν, n. de νευστός, que nada). m. Biol. Conjunto de organismos de dimensiones reducidas que viven en contacto con la película superficial de las aguas …   Diccionario de la lengua española

  • neuston — [no͞os′tän΄, nyo͞os′tän] n. [Gr, neut. of neustos, swimming (verbal of nein, to swim < IE * (s)neu , var. of * (s)na , > NATANT)] minute organisms, as mosquito larvae, existing in or dependent upon the surface film of a body of water …   English World dictionary

  • Neuston — Verschiedene neustonische Pflanzen, u.a. Vielwurzeligen Teichlinse (Spirodela polyrhiza; größere, z. T. rot überlaufene Blätter /eigentlich: Sprossglieder), der Kleinen Wasserlinse (Lemna minor; mittelgroße, hellgrüne Doppelblätter ) und der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Neuston — Les crustacés copépodes sont l un des groupes les plus importants du neuston (Copepoda dans Kunstformen der Natur d Ernst Haeckel, 1904 ) Le terme neuston utilisé en limnologie et en océanographie désigne l ensemble des organismes liés à la… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Neuston — Los copépodos son uno de los microorganismos neustónicos más abundantes. El neuston es el conjunto de organismos microscópicos que componen el pleuston, y que por tanto se encuentran en la capa superficial que separa el agua de la atmósfera. Se… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Neuston — Neus|ton 〈n.; s; unz.〉 aus Mikroorganismen bestehende Lebensgemeinschaft des Oberflächenhäutchens stehender Gewässer [zu grch. neusteon „schwimmfähig“] * * * Neuston   [griechisch »das Schwimmende«] das, s, Lebensgemeinschaft der an der… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • neuston — ► sustantivo masculino BIOLOGÍA, ECOLOGÍA Conjunto de organismos que viven en la capa más superficial del océano, en contacto con el aire. * * * neuston (del gr. «neustón») m. Biol. Conjunto de organismos diminutos que flotan o nadan en aguas… …   Enciclopedia Universal

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