Critters on the Greenpeace website...?

Really small stuff...

Check this slideshow, especially the coral growing on the blue plastic packing tape and the critter that looks like something out of 'War Of The Worlds'.

http://weblog.greenpeace.org/oceandefender...low_thingy.html

Who knows...

Thanks for posting Alexxy.

The stuff growing on the blue plastic isn't really coral, it's a bryozoan as far as I can tell from the picture. The crustaceans in the images they call krill are really copepods; true krill are euphasids. The "martians" are very cool - they're marine insects, genus Halobates. These little guys are called water striders or water skaters because they stay on the surface of the water. The golden ovoids on the coral may be Halobates eggs. See

http://www.unk.edu/acad/biology/hoback/mar...lobateslife.htm

Wow. Thanks for your extensive knowledge, Leslie.

I took the photos so it feels good to identify the little chaps....

Cheers

Alexxxy

Alexxxy -- you do know that Leslie has an entire GENUS named after her, don't you? We're in the company of greatness!

Or the authors preferred to name a genus after me rather than pay up for their beer & poker debts!

So Alexxxy the poster = Alex the Greenpeace photographer? Cool. Please continue to post critters here or other pics in the conservation forum - I'm sure we'd all be interested in seeing more of what you see on your cruises.

Sure will. We are heading to the 'Trash Vortex' near the Midway Islands next month and I'm sure there'll be some interesting critters/plastics hybrids there.

Hey Leslie - would you mind posting the critter IDs on the Greenpeace weblog site I initially directed you to?

cheers

Alexxxy