Copepode Sapphirina iris (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.
Embryos and larvae
Drifting in the currents, embryos and larvae perpetuate the species and are food for multitudes.
Underwater glider (Photo : David Luquet)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium tripos (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Sea Urchin - Planktonic Origins
Barely visible to the naked eye, sea urchin larvae grow and transform into bottom-dwelling urchins.
Annelid worm (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Ciliate (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Ostracodes (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Carte bathymétrique de la Mer Méditerranée
Appendicularia Oikopleura dioica (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Tunicata Pyrosoma (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium carriense var volans (Photo : Sophie Marro)
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.
Gelatinous plankton Pelagia and Ctenophores (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium azoricum (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)
Les mésocosmes déployés dans la rade de Villefranche (© L. Maugendre, LOV)
