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.
Jellyfish Leuckaztiara octona (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Villefranche-sur-Mer in stormy weather, winter 2011 - Photo : J.-M. Grisoni
Deployment of a profiling float (Photo : Jean-Jacques Pangrazi)
Vue sous-marine d'un groupe de mésocosmes (© Stareso)
The research vessel "James COOK"
Instrumented buoy (Photo : David Luquet)
Foraminifera Orbulina universa and mollusk larva (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Plankton
Plankton are a multitude of living organisms adrift in the currents.Our food, our fuel, and the air we breathe originate in plankton.
Dinoflagellate Ceratium fusus (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Remote-controlled sailboat
Acantharia (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Rosette used to collect seawater samples during a scientific cruise in the South Pacific Ocean. (Photo : Joséphine Ras)
The research vessel "Marion Dufresne"
Dinoflagellate Ceratium falcatum (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Ctenaria Beroe ovata (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Phytoplankton bloom observed in the Barents Sea (North of Norway) in August 2010 by the ocean color sensor MODIS onboard NASA satellite Aqua. Changes in ocean color result from modifications in the phytoplankton composition and concentration. The green colors are likely associated with the presence of diatoms. The shades of light blue result from the occurrence of coccolithophores, phytoplankton organisms that strongly reflect light due to their chalky shells - Source : NASA's Earth Observatory (http:/earthobservatory.nasa.gov)
Diatom genus Rhizosolenia (Photo : Sophie Marro)
