Plankton mark seasons in the sea, just like leaves and flowers on land

By Abigail McQuatters-Gollop, Associate Professor of Marine Conservation, University of Plymouth

Britain’s seas are rich in wildlife, but many of its species can only be seen with a microscope. These are the plankton – tiny plants and animals found throughout the ocean that are the foundation of the entire marine food web.

As UK seas warm and cool with the seasons, the composition and abundance of these plankton communities naturally change. Like plants and animals on land, marine plankton undergo annual cycles that are dictated by seasonal patterns of light, temperature, and settled or unsettled…

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