Sea Urchin - Planktonic Origins
Barely visible to the naked eye, sea urchin larvae grow and transform into bottom-dwelling urchins.
Préparation des mésocosmes sur le ponton du laboratoire d'Océanographie de Villefranche lors de l'expérience menée en rade de Villefranche en février 2013 (© L. Maugendre, LOV)
Gelatinous plankton Pelagia and Ctenophores (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Instrumented buoy (Photo : David Luquet)
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)
Copepode Coryceide (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Appendicularia Oikopleura dioica (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium furca (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Instrumented buoy (Photo : Emilie Diamond)
Large rosette sampler used in the "World Ocean Circulation Experiment". This rosette has 36 10-liter Niskin bottles, an acoustic pinger (lower left), an "LADCP" current profiler (yellow long tube at the center), a CTD (horizontal instrument at the bottom), and transmissometer (yellow short tube at the center). (Photo : L. Talley)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium falcatum (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Underwater glider (Photo : David Luquet)
Diatom genus Chaetoceros (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Instrumented buoy (Photo : David Luquet)
Crab larva (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.
Gelatinous plankton Mneniopsis (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
