1) Following in Charles Darwin's wake, I still use nets to sample the plankton today. This thread is a series of 32 weekly, short videos narrated by #DavidAttenborough to introduce this remarkable world of microscopic life. RT to make this series a success.
@zeiss_micro

2) Charles Darwin: Many of these creatures so low in the scale of nature are most exquisite in their forms and rich colours – It creates a feeling of wonder that so much beauty should be apparently created for so little purpose. @zeiss_micro

3) Here, #DavidAttenborough introduces the phytoplankton, the microalgae that begin the marine food chain underpinning life in the sea. @zeiss_micro

In episode 4, #DavidAttenborough introduces the diatoms. These tiny solar cells are the sea's most abundant microalgae bringing life to the ocean surface by their photosynthesis. @zeiss_micro

5) Here, #DavidAttenborough introduces a phylum of diverse, single-celled organisms many of which are photosynthetic and are therefore part of the phytoplankton, these are the DINOFLAGELLATES. @zeiss_micro

6) The colonial phytoplankton PHAEOCYSTIS features in episode 6 as #DavidAttenborough describes their foamy remains that we know as SPUME but which we often confuse for something sinister. @zeiss_micro

7) The phytoplankton's influence extends beyond the sea. Here, we see Phaeocystis and #DavidAttenborough tells of some of its influences in the sky above, which may well surprise you. @zeiss_micro

8) Sir David Attenborough introduces the Coccolithophores. Widespread, single-celled, abundant phytoplankton these are important contributors to primary production and, as you will learn in the next episode 9, do much more besides. @zeiss_micro

9) Massive, 100-million-year-old chalk cliffs on England's south coast are made of Cretaceous phytoplankton and link the land with the sea. Listen as #DavidAttenborough describes the Earth's amazing carbonate-silicate cycle. @zeiss_micro

10) The carbonate-silicate cycle described in episode 9 is so powerful it would remove all CO2 from the atmosphere without a restorative mechanism. In this episode #DavidAttenborough describes how CO2 is returned and how we also now influence this process. @zeiss_micro

11) Copepods and krill are two examples of zooplankton primary consumers. In this episode #DavidAttenborough explains the vital role these animals play in the marine food chain. @zeiss_micro #homeschooling

12) In this episode #DavidAttenborough describes one of our planet's greatest animal migrations, the Diel Vertical Migration (DVM) of planktonic copepods in the sea. @zeiss_micro #homeschooling

13) Copepod reproduction. #DavidAttenborough describes two very different strategies to reproducing and surviving in the plankton, where eggs are seen as food. @zeiss_micro #homeschooling

14) Copepods are the most important planktonic herbivores making a critical link between phytoplankton and higher trophic levels. Here #DavidAttenborough describes their life cycle and how they feed the largest animals in the sea. @zeiss_micro #homeschooling

15) Amphipods are active predators in the plankton. Here, #DavidAttenborough describes their adaptations for hunting. Carnivores, like amphipods, play a key role in the transfer of organic carbon upwards through the plankton food chain. @zeiss_micro #homeschooling

16) Chaetognaths (bristle jaws), also called arrow worms, are transparent, omnivorous plankton hunters eating both phytoplankton and zooplankton. Here, a copepod meets its grisly demise in the clutches of the predator's jaws. @zeiss_micro

17) Comb jellies, sea gooseberries, ctenophores. Three names for the same animal. When these predators bloom they can have a devastating effect on the abundance of copepods and other zooplankton prey. #DavidAttenborough tells you how they catch their food. @zeiss_micro

18) Sea butterflies. These beguiling animals are abundant predators of other plankton. Let #DavidAttenborough tell you about swimming sea snails in this short video and learn why they might sadly, disappear from the sea. @zeiss_micro

19) The meroplankton. #DavidAttenborough introduces the extraordinary planktonic larval forms of creatures whose adults live on the seabed. The plankton provides these babies with plenty of food to grow and the surface ocean currents may disperse them to new places. @zeiss_micro

20) The plankton is a world of weird and wonderful creatures with astonishing adaptations for their survival. Here, #DavidAttenborough describes the alien-like zoea larvae of crabs that look nothing like the adult animal they will become. @zeiss_micro

21) On its journey from its larval life in the plankton to its adult life on the seabed the crab zoea becomes a megalopa. Let #DavidAttenborough tell you about this hungry larval stage. @zeissmicro

22) Barnacle larvae settling from the plankton upon ship hulls instead of upon rocks on the seabed made keel hauling a feared punishment. Here, #DavidAttenborough tells you why a planktonic larval stage helps barnacles and other seabed creatures succeed. @zeiss_micro

23) Nobody knows whose baby this is. It's named the Y-larva or Facetotecta. Here, #DavidAttenborough describes a true plankon mystery that has escaped understanding since it was first discovered over 130 years ago. @zeiss_micro

24) The planktonic babies of echinoderms, like this heart urchin or sea potato (Echinocardium cordatum) larva, are some of the smallest and fragile of larvae. Here, #DavidAttenborough tells you how they feed. @zeiss_micro

25) The planktonic larval life of the starfish Luidia sarsi is quite unusual. Listen to #DavidAttenborough tell you how this baby's life ends and the adult's life begins. @zeiss_micro

26) A remarkable beginning to life. The snail veliger larva has a shell making it heavy and so it tends to sink. Here, #DavidAttenborough tells you how this tiny baby stays up among the plankton to feed and grow before settling to the seabed. @zeiss_micro

27) Here, #DavidAttenborough introduces the planktonic larvae of worms. Life in the plankton is perilous and so the aim for many larvae is to grow fast and settle to the seabed quickly. @zeiss_micro

28) Defence when tiny is important. 'Spikey' extensions are seen in phytoplankton and zooplankton. Here, #DavidAttenborough describes how tiny polychaete larvae protect themselves against predation. (It may also slow their sinking). @zeiss_micro

29) Jellyfish big and small are all members of the plankton and they are important predators. Here, #DavidAttenborough tells you about one of the smallest jellyfish that has just caught a copepod. @zeiss_micro

30) Jellyfish, through their predation, can influence zooplankton abundance and this includes the larvae of fish, and so more jellyfish in the sea will alter the food web. Here, #DavidAttenborough describes recent changes in the abundance of jellyfish. @zeiss_micro

31) Most fish lay their eggs at the sea surface where they develop floating among the plankton. Listen to #DavidAttenborough explain why.

32) The greatest cycle on earth. The biological carbon pump makes the deep ocean a large carbon store. Here, David Attenborough explains the role that the largely, tiny and invisible creatures of the plankton play in the gobal carbon cycle. @zeiss_micro

33) It's perhaps hard to believe that life so tiny and so important is just floating around at the sea surface. In this last episode, David Attenborough summarises the many roles the plankton play and a modern challenge they face. @zeiss_micro