{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.plankton","code":"thing-q25367","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q25367/","name":"plankton","alternateNames":["cryoplankton","limnoplankton","potamoplankton","mixoplankton","neuston","microplankton","nanoplankton","meroplankton","picoplankton","holoplankton","marine plankton","heleoplankton"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.2","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.LIV"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"The diverse collection of organisms that drift in water, unable to swim against currents, including phytoplankton, zooplankton, bacterioplankton and mixoplankton, from microscopic cells to jellyfish, in oceans, lakes and rivers; plankton form the base of aquatic food webs, produce much of the oxygen on Earth and drive the biological carbon pump.","purpose":"Let an agent explain plankton by group and role, describe their ecological and climate importance with sourced data, address harmful blooms, and support sampling and education.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Drifting organisms","Diverse taxa","Base of food webs","Climate role"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"classify","name":"Classify","description":"Kinds of plankton.","layers":[{"id":"groups","name":"Groups","description":"Major groups.","findings":[{"id":"groups-finding","name":"Groups","description":"Groups.","questions":[{"text":"Which plankton group does this organism belong to, by function and size class?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What are mixoplankton and neuston?","kind":"definition"}]}]},{"id":"identify","name":"Identify","description":"Identification.","findings":[{"id":"identify-finding","name":"Identify","description":"Identification.","questions":[{"text":"How can plankton be identified with microscopy or imaging?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which guides and databases help?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"ecology","name":"Ecology","description":"Roles.","layers":[{"id":"foodweb","name":"Food web","description":"Food webs.","findings":[{"id":"foodweb-finding","name":"Food web","description":"Food webs.","questions":[{"text":"How do plankton support fisheries and aquatic food webs?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"How do plankton dynamics affect fish stocks?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"climate","name":"Climate","description":"Carbon and oxygen.","findings":[{"id":"climate-finding","name":"Climate","description":"Climate.","questions":[{"text":"How do plankton produce oxygen and export carbon to the deep ocean, according to research?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"How is climate change affecting them?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"hazards","name":"Hazards","description":"Blooms and invasions.","layers":[{"id":"blooms","name":"Blooms","description":"Harmful blooms.","findings":[{"id":"blooms-finding","name":"Blooms","description":"Harmful blooms.","questions":[{"text":"Is there a harmful plankton bloom warning for this water, according to authorities?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which precautions apply?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"ballast","name":"Ballast","description":"Invasive species.","findings":[{"id":"ballast-finding","name":"Ballast","description":"Invasive species.","questions":[{"text":"How is plankton spread by ballast water controlled?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which invasive plankton are notable?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"study","name":"Study","description":"Sampling and education.","layers":[{"id":"sampling","name":"Sampling","description":"Collecting plankton.","findings":[{"id":"sampling-finding","name":"Sampling","description":"Sampling.","questions":[{"text":"How can plankton be sampled with nets and observed?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which citizen science projects exist?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"teach","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","findings":[{"id":"teach-finding","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","questions":[{"text":"How can plankton be taught to convey their importance?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which misconceptions arise?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Sample, count and report plankton for monitoring programmes it is authorized to support.","Explain the role of plankton in food webs, oxygen production and the carbon cycle."],"mustNot":["Discharge ballast water or pollutants that spread invasive plankton or cause harmful blooms.","Release nutrients or substances into water that trigger algal blooms.","Promote ocean fertilisation or other plankton interventions without stating risks and governance.","Present a harmful algal bloom as safe for swimming or fishing without official clearance."],"requiresHuman":["Declaring waters safe or unsafe after a harmful bloom.","Any deliberate large-scale intervention in plankton populations."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Plankton underpin marine food webs and produce much of Earth's oxygen.","Harmful blooms poison shellfish and harm coastal livelihoods."],"affectedParties":["Marine ecosystems","Fishing communities","Swimmers and shellfish eaters"]},"owners":{"steward":"The public: held in common; environmental and fisheries authorities monitor waters.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["Biodiversity and plankton monitoring databases"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q7239","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"organism","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"algae","type":"related","note":"phytoplankton"},{"target":"biogeochemical cycle","type":"related","note":"carbon cycling"},{"target":"fishing","type":"related","note":"fisheries base"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.plankton","Wikidata: Q25367 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q25367)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Organism size:  micrometre or millimetre - Size is measured by microscopy or calibrated imaging with the body dimension specified because plankton span widely differing forms.","Numerical concentration:  organisms per litre - Concentration is determined by counting a defined plankton group in a known water volume.","Biomass concentration:  milligram of carbon per cubic metre - Biomass concentration is measured or estimated for a defined sample and depends on the organisms and conversion method included.","Settling velocity:  metre per second - Settling velocity is measured from vertical displacement relative to water under specified conditions."]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Drifting with currents","Microscopic to gelatinous","Nekton such as fish swim actively","Mostly microscopic organisms in water, sometimes visible as blooms or larger drifters."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["classify plankton groups","explain roles in food webs and carbon cycling","address harmful blooms","support sampling and observation"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Harmful algal blooms","Invasive plankton via ballast water","Misclassifying organisms"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Water quality monitoring standards","Ballast water management convention"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Aquatic ecology, fisheries and climate science.","phytoplankton","zooplankton","bacterioplankton and virioplankton","mixoplankton","freshwater plankton and neuston"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q25367: plankton","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q25367","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Plankton","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plankton","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should each plankton group be a separate entry?","How should monitoring data be linked?","How should climate research be linked?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q25367/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q25367/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-11T19:59:16Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:29+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}