Microworlds: Plankton 101

The watery world of phytoplankton and zooplankton is a daily drama—an ocean teeming with plants and animals. It’s the ocean like you’ve never seen it before. Shrink down as we enter the ocean microworld and discover the strange, the beautiful, the indispensable—plankton.

Hey, teachers! Here’s a cheat sheet of what’s included in this episode of Microworlds:
What is plankton, the incredible diversity of plankton
Phytoplankton and zooplankton
Why are plankton important
When and where are plankton found in the ocean, life cycles
Gossamer worms, squat lobster, moon jellyfish

We post our plankton finds on iNaturalist, an online community science platform for discovering, sharing, and learning about nature observations. Here are some of the organisms featured in this episode:
Gossamer worm (Tomopteris sp.): https://inaturalist.ca/observations/1...
Moon jelly (Aurelia labiata) ephyra: https://inaturalist.ca/observations/1...
Moon jelly polyps: https://inaturalist.ca/observations/9...

Find more of our plankton records and other biodiversity finds here: https://inaturalist.ca/people/HakaiIn...

This episode is part of our series Microworlds, where we shrink down and discover the wonderful lives of the tiny, the miniature, the microworlds.

Produced by Josh Silberg and Meigan Henry
Written by Josh Silberg
Edited by Kristina Blanchflower
Videography by Bennett Whitnell and Grant Callegari
Voice-over by Kristina Blanchflower
Miscroscopy/Scientific team: Alana Closs, Noriko Okamoto, Tyrel Froese, Kyle Hall, and Faye Manning
Additional footage by David Young from Victoria High School, Tavish Campbell, and Storyblocks