The term 'plankton' was coined by Victor Hensen in 1887, denotes
collectively all free floating and suspended bodies, both plants and animals, living
or dead, that essentially move passively in a body of water. The phytoplankters
are the microscopic plant life of the sea, which constitute the primary producers
synthesizing the basic food. It belongs to the class Algae, which besides
chlorophylls posses other characteristic pigments. The important components of
phytoplankton are Diatoms (Bacillariophyceae), Dinoflagellates (Dinophyceae),
Blue-green algae (Cyanophyceae), Phytoflagellates (Xanthophyceae,
Chrysophyceae, Haptophyceae, Cryptophyceae) and Nannoplankters (Chlorella,
Nannochloropsis etc.). In addition to these, two other Classes namely
Silicoflagellates and Coccolithophores also belong to the category of
phytoplankton
