Ocean Drifters: A Secret World Beneath the Waves
Aliens. We don’t need to go to sf movies or explore the outer reaches of the universe to find life that is so weird, so strange that we would call it “alien.” All we need to do is dip some water from the upper surface of the sea. These aliens are collectively known as plankton, a word derived from the Greek for “drifter.” Plankton are staggeringly abundant, forming the base of the marine food web and famous as the steady diet of many of the great whales. Molecular-geneticist Kirby studies the diversity of plankton, displayed here in a series of highly magnified photographs that reveal not only the truly alien nature of many planktonic species but also their beauty. Producing approximately 50 percent of the world’s oxygen, the phytoplankton are the “plants” of the plankton. Preying on the phytoplankton are the “animal” forms, the zooplankton. Some of these remain in the plankton their entire lives, such as the krill, the food of the great whales. Others are the larvae of larger animals such as crabs, barnacles, or fish. Kirby’s bright and clear images are paired with explanations of what species is pictured and facts about its lifestyle. --Nancy Bent