This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact The Epoch Times Reprints.
A supplied microscope image obtained on Feb. 27, 2023, shows a mixed phytoplankton community. Adelaide scientists have revealed how the ocean's tiniest plants, pico- and nano-phytoplankton, underpin one of Australia's prime marine habitats. AAP Image/Supplied by University of Rhode Island/Stephanie Anderson - NASA Earth Expeditions
The largest specimens of nano-phytoplankton barely equal the width of the finest strand of human hair, while impossibly small pico-phytoplankton is 10-100 times tinier again.
Although virtually invisible, the two self-feeding microscopic organisms represent the beginning of the food chain for the entirety of Earth’s aquatic mammal population including that which thrives in Australia’s prime marine habitats.
