Nekton refers to the aggregate of actively swimming aquatic organisms in a boy of water (usually oceans or lakes) able to move independently of water currents. Nekton are contrasted with 'plankton' which refers to the aggregate of passively floating, drifting, or somewhat motile organisms occurring in a body of water, primarily comprising tiny algae and bacteria, small eggs and larvae of marine organisms, and protozoa and other minute predators.