Instrumented buoy (Photo : Emilie Diamond)
Velella - Planktonic Vessels
Colonies of polyps transported by prevailing winds, velella drift at the surface of warm seas.
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.
Instrumented buoy (Photo : Emilie Diamond)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium teresgyr (Photo : Sophie Marro)
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)
Sea Urchin - Planktonic Origins
Barely visible to the naked eye, sea urchin larvae grow and transform into bottom-dwelling urchins.
Deployment of a profiling float (Photo : Jean-Jacques Pangrazi)
Plankton
Plankton are a multitude of living organisms adrift in the currents.Our food, our fuel, and the air we breathe originate in plankton.
Squid larva (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Diatom genus Cylindrotheca (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Deployment of a profiling float (Photo : Jean-Jacques Pangrazi)
Larva of decapod crustacean (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Deployment of a profiling float (Photo : Jean-Jacques Pangrazi)
Embryos and larvae
Drifting in the currents, embryos and larvae perpetuate the species and are food for multitudes.
Jellyfish Rhizostoma pulmo (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
