From the literature we obtained experimental data on the effects of small-scale turbulence on plankton at the organism scale. Normalized rates in response to turbulence were calculated in the present study for parameters related to growth, ingestion and energy expenditure.
Growth rates are, in general, negatively affected by turbulence.
Nevertheless, the data are highly biased towards a specific group of organisms, dinoflagellates, which could have peculiar physiological impediments under turbulence. Ingestion rates seem to be increased by turbulence, especially at low and intermediate levels. The few data available on energy expenditure indicate increases under turbulent conditions. Although many experiments were conducted at very high levels of turbulence with respect to oceanic conditions, in most studies the Kolmogorov size microscale remained larger than the size of the planktonic organisms. Thus, organisms responded to turbulence or turbulence-derived stimuli below the Kolmogorov lengthscale.