Massive swarm of tunicates tilts ocean's chemical balance
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 - 19:00
in Earth & Climate
A surge of nutrients to the warm waters off the southeastern coast of Australia during the highly productive austral spring can spark an explosion in the phytoplankton population. Where phytoplankton bloom, so do the predators that feed on them. Some of these predators, like the globally prevalent, barrel-shaped tunicate salp Thalia democratica, excel at capitalizing on the transient nature of phytoplankton blooms.