Crab Megalops Larva

Crab Megalops Larva

Keith Ellenbogen, Photographer & Visiting Artist, MIT Sea Grant; Dr. Tom Consi, Scientist, MIT Sea Grant

MIT Sea Grant

Plankton are tiny to microscopic creatures that occur in immense numbers and variety in bodies of water on Earth (oceans, bays, lakes, rivers, etc.). They form the base of the food chain upon which all aquatic life depends. They are, in themselves, bizarre, yet fascinating creatures to our macroscopic terrestrial eyes.

We are photo-documenting the creatures that live in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Massachusetts. Plankton exhibit an amazing variety of body forms, modes of locomotion, and behaviors that are shaped by the physics of living at small scale. The goal is to educate people young and old as to the variety and abundance of life in the Sanctuary.

close-up view of a developing crab

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