Dinoflagellate Ceratium carriense var volans (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Phytoplankton bloom observed by the ocean color sensor MODIS onboard NASA satellite Terra in May 2010. The bloom spreads broadly in the North Atlantic from Iceland to the Bay of Biscay - Source : NASA's Earth Observatory (http:/earthobservatory.nasa.gov)
Sea Urchin - Planktonic Origins
Barely visible to the naked eye, sea urchin larvae grow and transform into bottom-dwelling urchins.
Larva of decapod crustacean (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Siphonophores - The longest animals on the planet
Cousins of corals, siphonophores are colonies of specialized individuals called zoids. Some catch and digest their prey, others swim, or lay eggs or sperm.
Elephant seal equipped with a sensor
Salpes - La vie enchaînée
Bien que d’apparence primitive, les salpes sont de proches ancêtres des poissons. Lorsque les algues abondent, les salpes prolifèrent en de longues chaînes d’individus clonés.
Dinoflagellate Ceratium gravidum (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Carte bathymétrique de la Mer Méditerranée
Velella - Planktonic Vessels
Colonies of polyps transported by prevailing winds, velella drift at the surface of warm seas.
Gelatinous plankton Pelagia and Ctenophores (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Underwater glider (Photo : David Luquet)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium paradoxides (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Diatom genus Chaetoceros (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Deployment of a profiling float (Photo : Jean-Jacques Pangrazi)
Siphonophores (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium falcatum (Photo : Sophie Marro)