adjective
- of or relating to organisms that drift or float in water, especially marine organisms that swim weakly or are carried by currents
Usage: technical; biology; oceanography
Examples
- Pleustonic larvae drift with ocean currents until they settle on the seafloor.
- Many jellyfish are pleustonic organisms that depend on water movement for dispersal.
- The research team studied pleustonic communities in the open ocean.
- Pleustonic species play an important role in marine food webs.
- Unlike nektonic fish, pleustonic animals have limited swimming ability.