Ocean Drifters: A Secret World Beneath the Waves

by Richard R. Kirby

"Beasts that look as if they come from a science-fiction movie."
-- The Times (UK) Beneath the waves lies a hidden microcosm of the world of plankton. These microscopic algae and the tiny animals that eat them float freely in the sunlit surface of the sea, where they underpin the whole marine food chain, provide the world with oxygen, and play an essential role in the global carbon cycle. Richard Kirby's high-magnification photographs and informative text bring out the beauty and variety of forms in the plankton, and explain how global change and rising sea temperatures are affecting this complex world with ramifications for the ecology of our entire planet.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Photography

192 pages, Hardcover

First published August 16, 2011

About the author

I am a plankton scientist and I study an amazing world of life of striking beauty that is mostly too small to be seen by the naked eye. While often overlooked, the plankton affect every aspect of our lives. You can see how in this short film I created called Ocean Drifters, which is narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

In the sea, the plankton begin the marine food chain. Microscopic phytoplankton (tiny plant-like cells) use the sun’s energy to combine carbon dioxide and water to create sugar and oxygen; this is the process known as photosynthesis and it is the same process that land plants use to grow. The phytoplankton are the food of herbivorous zooplankton (animal plankton) in turn eaten by carnivorous zooplankton. Together all the plankton are the food for fish, which in turn are eaten by other sea creatures such as seabirds, sharks, and seals, in their turn eaten by larger predators like killer-whales and polar bears. The plankton are also the food source of some of the largest mammals on Earth, the baleen whales. Quite simply, without the plankton there would not be any fish in the sea for you, me or other creatures to eat.

The plankton do much more than just support the marine food web, however. The phytoplankton are also an important influence upon the Earth’s climate by consuming carbon dioxide. Over hundreds of millions of years, their dead remains that settled to the sea floor created our oil and gas reserves. Today we use this processed plankton for our transport, our clothes, and to fuel our agriculture.

So you see, the plankton influences our lives in ways that most of us have never imagined.

Their story and their striking images are revealed in my book.

Reviews

[Laura Gilfillan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures of minuscule plankton. The author stressed the importance of the carbon cycle a lot, which was nice, but I would have liked to know more about these creatures. Still, the beautiful pictures were enough, in and of themselves.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful introductory book to the subject of the planktonic denizens of the ocean.

[Immy Lippert · Rating 5 out of 5]

i liked the pictures ! 🙈

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very educational when it comes to the world of microbiology in the ocean. I quite enjoyed reading it.

[Abby]

This is a field trip to another world, which is what I was after when I checked it out. The photographs are fantastic, although the writing is too jargon-y for general audiences (such as myself). Also, someone should have told Mr. Kirby that when he quotes 19th century scientists, those letters that look like "f" are really "s". He gives the fathers of the modern scientific method a serious lisp. However, I did like his phraseology when he explained that immobile, sexually-reproducing mussels have to live "within a penis-length of one another". A lot of metaphorical territory to be explored there, eh?

[g-na · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kirby is a biologist specializing in plankton, and after seeing his photos you can certainly understand his interest. The pictures (portraits?) herein are spectacular microscopy photos that capture the planktonic world in such a way that allows you to appreciate the art and beauty you are unable to see with the naked eye. While this is mainly a photography book the author takes the time to educate his audience and teach us some of the science surrounding these miniscule plants and animals. Recommended.

[Juliana]

So amazing to think of what might be living in a drop of seawater— and so amazing to see actual photographs of them.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great photos.