Salps are translucent barrel-shaped animals that may live singly or form colonies metres long. They move through the ocean filtering plankton by pumping water through their gelatinous bodies.
One fine spring day in November in northern New Zealand I descended into a salp soup at the Poor Knights Islands. Salp populations had exploded with the abundance of plant plankton food. This is what I found.
Video doesn't automatically play in HD quality - click through to Vimeo for best quality viewing.
One fine spring day in November in northern New Zealand I descended into a salp soup at the Poor Knights Islands. Salp populations had exploded with the abundance of plant plankton food. This is what I found.
Video doesn't automatically play in HD quality - click through to Vimeo for best quality viewing.
The innocent salps face hostility. Many scuba divers don't appreciate the reduced visibility that comes with the phytoplankton bloom and consequent salp occupation. They're slimy to look at and the touch of a salp brushing bare skin will send a shiver down your spine.
The alien invasion doesn't last long and as quickly as they appeared the salps can be swept away by ocean forces. Before you know it you're missing those crazy plankton hoovering vacuum cleaners and their jaunty jet-propelled motion. Careful... you might develop an appetite for the wonders of our weird wild ocean.
The alien invasion doesn't last long and as quickly as they appeared the salps can be swept away by ocean forces. Before you know it you're missing those crazy plankton hoovering vacuum cleaners and their jaunty jet-propelled motion. Careful... you might develop an appetite for the wonders of our weird wild ocean.
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