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Tiny Crab in the Sargassum

The sargassum hosts bryozoans, hydroids and more obviously, crustaceans like a baby swimming crab.
(Seabird McKeon)

The sargassum is coated with encrusting organisms, such as bryozoans and hydroids, that use it as a perch to filter feed in the oceanic waters, as well as crustaceans such as thos swimming crab Portunus sayi. Off the coast of Belize, Smithsonian Marine Science Network postdoctoral fellow Seabird McKeon studies floating seaweeds and the minuscule animals that call them home. Check out his slide show and blog and be amazed by the vast array of tiny life forms floating in the world adrift.