Underwater glider (Photo : David Luquet)
Velella - Planktonic Vessels
Colonies of polyps transported by prevailing winds, velella drift at the surface of warm seas.
Ptéropodes - Mollusques qui nagent
Les papillons des mers construisent de fragiles coquilles. Résisteront-elles à l’acidification des océans?
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.
Radiolarians (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Instrumented buoy (Photo : David Luquet)
Sea Urchin - Planktonic Origins
Barely visible to the naked eye, sea urchin larvae grow and transform into bottom-dwelling urchins.
Dinoflagellate Ceratium gravidum (Photo : Sophie Marro)
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.
Jellyfish Leuckaztiara octona (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Les mésocosmes attirent les poissons ! (© Stareso)
Acantharia (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium extensum (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Pleurobrachia
Propulsées par huit rangées de peignes, les groseilles de mer déploient deux longs tentacules pour pêcher des crustacés.
Average chlorophyll concentration in the surface ocean (from mi-September 1997 to August 2007) from the ocean color sensor SeaWiFS (NASA). Subtropical gyres, in the center of the oceanic basins, are characterized by very low concentrations of chlorophyll a (dark blue) - Source : NASA's Earth Observatory (http:/earthobservatory.nasa.gov)
Rosette for collecting seawater samples
Foraminifera Ruber (Photo : Fabien Lombard)