Diverse sea ‘bugs’ revealed on landmark Atlantic cruise to census zooplankton

May 4, 2006
Census of Marine Life

Zooplankton DNA Sequenced at Sea; scientists census tiny species with starring role in food chain, world climate

Oxygyrus_keraudreni_1e__edited_loCensus of Marine Life scientists trawled rarely explored tropical ocean depths between the southeast US coast and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge to inventory and photograph the variety and abundance of zooplankton – small sea “bugs” that form a vital link in the ocean food chain – and other life forms.Though relatively few in number compared with the uppermost ocean layer, scientists were amazed by the variety of tiny animals found at depths of 1 to 5 km (0.6 to 3 miles). Among thousands captured, 500 species have been catalogued, 220 of them DNA sequenced at sea revealing a number of new species.

The 20-day cruise, completed April 30, is part of an ambitious global inventory of zooplankton by 2010 (dubbed the Census of Marine Zooplankton, CMarZ), a Census of Marine Life initiative that sheds life on some important global ecosystem processes, including the ocean’s function as Earth’s largest carbon sink and the impact ocean acidification may have on life in the seas.

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