Nanophytoplankton are particularly small phytoplankton with sizes between 2 and 20 μm. They are the autotrophic part of nanoplankton. Like other phytoplankton, nanophytoplankton are microscopic organisms that obtain energy through the process of photosynthesis and must therefore live in the upper sunlit layer of ocean or other bodies of water. These microscopic free-floating organisms, including algae, and cyanobacteria, fix large amounts of carbon which would otherwise be released as carbon dioxide.[1] The term nanophytoplankton is derived from the far more widely used term nannoplankton/nanoplankton.
- ^ phytoplankton Dictionary.com