Squid larva (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Profiling float (Photo : David Luquet)
Ostracodes (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
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)
Instrumented buoy (Photo : David Luquet)
Deployment of a profiling float (Photo : Jean-Jacques Pangrazi)
Plankton
Plankton are a multitude of living organisms adrift in the currents.Our food, our fuel, and the air we breathe originate in plankton.
Sea Urchin - Planktonic Origins
Barely visible to the naked eye, sea urchin larvae grow and transform into bottom-dwelling urchins.
Instrumented buoy (Photo : David Luquet)
Gelatinous plankton Mneniopsis (Photo : Fabien Lombard)
Embryos and larvae
Drifting in the currents, embryos and larvae perpetuate the species and are food for multitudes.
Appendiculaires - Ils vivent dans leurs filets
L’appendiculaire, proche ancêtre des vertébrés, fabrique des logettes aux filtres délicats à la fois résidence et filet de pêche.
Elephant seal equipped with a sensor
Les mésocosmes déployés dans la rade de Villefranche en face de l'observatoire océanologique de Villefranche (© L. Maugendre, LOV)
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.
Villefranche-sur-Mer in stormy weather, winter 2011 - Photo : J.-M. Grisoni
Dinoflagellate Ceratium teresgyr (Photo : Sophie Marro)
Dinoflagellate Ceratium gravidum. In the video one can observe the movement of one of the two flagella. (Video : Sophie Marro)
