Even Smaller! Plankton!

 

Today, I entered the world of plankton. Plankton are the lifeblood of the ocean. Most of us know that. But I don't think too many people have the privilege of spending time with plankton in quite the same way that I did, today. My encounter with plankton was one of intense attention and noticing.

Dr. Laura Helenius from the Fortune Whale Lab at Dalhousie University works with AHOI and she was here studying copepods, a type of plankton that is essential to the North Atlantic Right Whale, among others. There is a brief description of her collaboration with AHOI here. I am grateful to Laura and to AHOI for making it possible for me to spend today with the plankton.

The best way to view plankton is through a microscope. I got to use a really good microscope (Leica) that has the capacity to capture images with a computer interface. I took lots and lots of pictures and a few videos with this microscope. The photos look a lot like drawings to me:

I haven't really learned how to identify plankton, yet, but I believe this is Calanus, a type of copepod.

I did find that the microscope photos, although they are really cool, did not really express the liveliness of these organisms. I found them flat. So partway through the day, I started photographing them with my camera and macro lens. I am much happier with those results.

I haven't had a chance to work with any of the photos I took. Many of them, including the ones I took with the microscope can be stacked to create greater clarity, but that will take time and it is something I can do at home.

But I DID take the time to make a video! John, click this link to view the video. (Everyone else can click the link, too!) By the way, the little round organism that is by itself is a ctenophore. Really cool little one!

And yes, these plankton do look like insects. That's probably why I like them so much.

When the day was done, I did not want to kill the plankton so I found a visiting grad student who was willing to help me release them into the ocean. It was like "Free Willy" but plankton style. I'm sure many of them have found their way into the food chain by now, but that's as it should be.