The Secret Life of Plankton

by The Philosophical Fish

When you buy a fish at the market, do you ever stop and take a moment to think about where it came from. I don’t men who grew it or caught it, and how they did that. I mean how did it’s life start. The ocean is a fascinating world, but our weak eyes and poor senses can only take in the largest things in it. I used to love sitting in a lab at Bamfield Marine Station and staring at the contents of a drop of seawater and seeing the microscopic world visible only through a microscope.

This is a cool video that was featured in a Ted Education series in 2012, and that provides a snapshot of what exists beyond our vision.

New videography techniques have opened up the oceans’ microscopic ecosystem, revealing it to be both mesmerizingly beautiful and astoundingly complex. Explore this hidden world that underpins our own food chain — in the first-ever TEDTalk given by a fish …

Tierney Thys is a marine biologist and science educator. She studies the behavior of the Mola mola, or giant ocean sunfish — and works with other scientists to make films that share the wonders they see. Full bio »

The Plankton Chronicles Project uses state-of-the-art optics to reveal the beauty and diversity of planktonic organisms. It was initiated by Christian Sardet, Noé Sardet and Sharif Mirshak. Full bio »

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