Plankton | Smithsonian Ocean

Up-close image of a translucent krill.

Forams are tiny single-celled organisms.

The World of Foraminifera

Take a closer look at a few members of this fascinating life form in this slideshow.

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The shell of a sea slug

Article

A Microscopic Identity Crisis

Small red hyperiid.

Slideshow

The Hyper Eyes of Hyperiids: How Some Shrimp-Like Creatures See Light in the Deep Sea

Census researchers discovered this sea cucumber (Enypniastes sp.) in the Gulf of Mexico.

Slideshow

Zooplankton Biodiversity

Image of two dinoflagellates seen through a microscope.

Audio

Dinoflagellates: One Species at a Time

A female (top left) and male Photerus annecohenae. Note that females are larger than males (sexual dimorphism) and that males have bigger eyes.

Article

You Light Up My World!

Are You An Educator?

At Smithsonian Ocean, we have lesson plans, activities, and resources to help you engage your students in the wonders of our oceans.

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Plankton Articles

A photo of a squid using bioluminescence to hide in the deep sea.

Overview

Bioluminescence

One of the most impressive photosynthesizers is a cyanobacterium called Prochlorococcus. It is estimated to be more abundant than any other photosynthesizer on the planet, and to be responsible for producing 20 percent of the oxygen in the atmosphere.

Video

Meet the obscure microbe that influences climate, ocean ecosystems, and perhaps even evolution

Screenshot from video showing hands of researcher wearing gloves and pipetting.

Video

A Microbial World

The Amazon River carries all the rainwater that lands in the Amazon rainforest, covering some 2.1 million square miles, into the ocean. And with it, it carries vital nutrients like phosphorus, nitrogen and silicon.

Article

Thirty Days to Submission: How I Made a Video for Ocean180

A female (top left) and male Photerus annecohenae. Note that females are larger than males (sexual dimorphism) and that males have bigger eyes.

Article

You Light Up My World!

A bloom of algae from up above

Article

What Exactly Is a Red Tide?

This copepod (Gaussia princeps) was collected deeper than 1000 meters in the Sargasso Sea by Census of Marine Zooplankton (CMarZ) researchers in April 2006.

Article

Five Questions with Russ Hopcroft, Zooplankton Whiz

Image of two dinoflagellates seen through a microscope.

Audio

Dinoflagellates: One Species at a Time

A close-up image of deep-sea fish Argyropelecus aculeatus

Article

15 Creatures in the Gulf of Mexico that are Stranger Than Fiction

Forams are tiny single-celled organisms.

Slideshow

Foraminifera

Kelps are large, brown algae that grow along coasts around the world, especially in cooler regions.

Article

With Every Breath You Take, Thank the Ocean

A large, black instrument is hauled onto a ship's deck by researchers wearing hard hats and life vests.

Article

What the Big Picture Can Teach Us About Tiny Ocean Creatures