To be under the stars and the Milky Way with the bioluminescent
plankton in the waves is nothing short of magic."
They believe the rise of this
plankton stabilised the chemical composition of the ocean and provided the conditions for one of the most prominent diversifications of marine life in Earth's history.
Northrop Grumman may expand its studies to other organisms, but shrimp and
plankton will be its initial focus.
The primary purpose of CPRs has been to record
plankton communities in the vast ocean scale.
Zooplankton are the animal-like
plankton (the krill, fish, jellyfish, etc.--any non-photosynthetic
plankton), and are often grouped into three size classes (from smallest to largest): microzooplankton (20-200pm, smaller than a grain of salt), mesozooplankton (200pm-20mm size, between sesame seed and coffee bean size), and macrozooplankton (2-20cm, larger than a thumbnail).
If we want to predict where and when productive plankton-rich areas will form, we need to learn more about the turbulent three-dimensional environment in which
plankton live--the forces that govern where different species move and aggregate.
Another photographer, Alyn Wallace, has also written a blog on his experience of swimming with the bioluminescent
plankton at Three Cliffs Bay in Gower last year.
The authorities had then said continuous tourism activities would harm the islands' main attraction - the rare
plankton.
"If I'd known the
plankton were going to be there I'd have set a camera up with time-lapse.
Then, where
plankton assume an important role of nutrients regeneration, a pollutant-caused reduction in
plankton biomass could have a significant effect on natural ecosystem.
Phytoplankton are the self-feeding components for the
plankton and a key part of oceans, seas and freshwater basin ecosystem.
'Imagine there's a little animal that wants to eat this
plankton and suddenly it flashes at you,' he told ABC News.
