Want to know what’s really happening in our oceans? 🌊 Look to the plankton. They respond quickly to environmental changes and act as the ultimate 'canary in the coal mine' for marine ecosystems. That’s where the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) Survey comes in. https://www.cprsurvey.org/

A few of my favourite darkfield stills from this week’s plankton sample from the pier. A Müller’s larva (Turbellaria), a polychaete trochophore (not sure which stage), and a chain of diatoms Amphitetras antediluviana. #marineplankton 🦑

Check out this handsome beast! A mysid (opossum shrimp) from Happisburgh beach in Norfolk. Thanks to @adameykolab.bsky.social for the ID help! #marineplankton 🦑

In London Town to explore the plankton collection at @nhm.org I’m beyond excited! 🦑

Does anyone know a taxidermist or biologist who wants a mole? My cat brought me one 😞, beautifully intact with no apparent wounds (it came out of its hole in daytime because of what?). It’s currently in my freezer ‘cos I thought it might be useful to someone.

A polychaete (bristle worm) trochophore (young larva) from the top down. #marineplankton 🦑

Who can help me name this #protist #protistsonsky #ciliates #microscopy #freshwater #citizenscience Size approx 200 Micron exluding the trunk. @protistologyopen.bsky.social

Morning! It’s a choppy one today on the coast of north Norfolk!

A very stretchy and excitable Trematode worm! This is a parasitic flatworm. #marineplankton 🦑

Almost harvest time I think!

Some photos from today’s @quekettmicroscopicalclub meet at the beach! A fish larva, a comma shrimp, and a red seaweed I can’t remember the name of! #marinebiology 🦑

Does anyone know what this is? A trochophore? Planula? It’s a larval stage of something and I neeeeed to know! It was pretty big (bigger than an anthozoan planula) and cylindrical. #marineplankton 🦑

Wow! All the spaces on the zoom meet for the citizen science project intro have all gone! But don’t worry, I’ve added extra spaces so you can still reserve your spot! 🦑🧪 #marineplankton #citizenscience

As some of you may know, I run The Plankton Project, and I'm excited to announce that I'm ready to launch the microscopy-based citizen science project (UK)I've been talking about all year! I'm holding a Zoom meeting on 6 August at 6pm if any of you would like to find out more #citizenscience 🦑🧪

This may look like a old leathery insole, but this cutie is a baby cnidarian! Cnidaria is the phylum that includes stingy things like jellyfish, sea anemones, coral, and hydroids. This is a planula larva of probably a sea anemone. #marineplankton 🦑

Loving the funky moves of this Chromadoria (Subclass) nematode worm. #marineplankton 🦑

Amazing opportunity to work with incredible scientists🧑‍🔬. Please share widely!! #ProtistsOnSky #coralreefs

It’s a bit windy on sample day today! #marineplankton 🦑

There were lots of these very striking Turbellarian flatworms in my weekly plankton sample this week. They really jazzed up the Petri dish! #marineplankton 🦑

I had a wonderful time at @northamptonshirenhs microscopy group meeting today, where I had the privilege of doing a presentation about marine plankton, and sharing a live sample with them! Here are some of the organisms we saw. #marineplankton 🦑

I don’t see diatom genus Petroneis very often, so when I do, it’s a treat! #marineplankton 🦑

There is something so delicious about this photo. It reminds me of gummy bears! My plankton sample this week was soooo busy, full of zooplankton - bristle worm larvae, copepods and copepod nauplii, barnacle nauplii, appendicularians… #marineplankton 🦑

I’ve never seen this before! A ostracod eats a polychaete larva. The first half of the video is real time, and the second half is a timelapse. It’s a bit gnarly to watch the larva wiggle about whilst being eaten alive! #marineplankton 🦑

Happy International Polychaete Day! These plankton grow up into the whole ridiculous range: sea mice, bloodworms, giant tube worms. Epic phylum!

If you study plankton, you’ll definitely come across polychaete (bristle worm) larvae, and today is a great day to recognise them, because it’s International Polychaete Day! #marineplankton 🦑 #wormwednesday

Oh Wells-next-the-Sea, you never let me down! I don’t sample at wells quay very often (it’s quite a way from me), but when I do I see things I don’t see anyway else! Like this urchin larva. What a beauty! #marineplankton 🦑

Ran a #marineplankton workshop today! I think it went very well ☺️ #scicomm 🦑

You know I love ‘new-to-me’ species! Thanks to @microbe_guru for the ID! This is a little dinoflagellate called Blixaea quinquecornis. #marineplankton 🦑

Good morning! Sample day! #marineplankton 🦑

Tonight’s swim was fun! We were booped constantly by sea gooseberries and delighted sporadically by moon jellies! Check out this dedicated moon jelly I found on the beach. It was paper thin and had a little fish still attached! #marineplankton 🦑

Good evening from Norfolk! A gentle sea, and blue skies here.

This week’s sample was heaving with copepod nauplii! Here’s just a few. #marineplankton 🦑

Lots of Peritrichia (stalked ciliates) in this week’s plankton sample, including Zoothamnium, Cothurnia, and Vaginicola. #marineplankton #protistsonsky 🦑

I wish I knew what this little critter was! It seems very happy running up and down this Zoothamnium stalked ciliate. I wonder if it’s a ciliate as well. Does anyone know? #marineplankton 🦑

We’ve just finished our binge watch of The X-Files seasons 1-11. I shall miss it!

This may look like a croissant that’s been down the back of the sofa for a few weeks, but this is a fabulous new find for me! This is a Harpacticoida copepod from the genus Tegastes. I think it’s very intriguing! #marineplankton 🦑

(Yes I know the mouth-anus is actually under the bell) #makeaterriblecomicday #makeaterriblecomicday2026

I’m not sure what this is - best guess is some kind of Trematode (Platyhelminthes). Let me know if you know! #marineplankton 🦑

Bonus post, just because. A pretty Globothalamea foraminifera to distract you from the heat. Foraminifera are single-celled protists, some of which have ornate shells. #marineplankton 🦑

Though I seem to be extraordinarily cheap until Friday, you will find a wealth of fabulous folklore within the chapters... A perfect accompaniment to a nice iced something with your feet up. Go on, you know you want to. www.amazon.co.uk/Household-Lo... #booksky #kindle #amazondeal

I always see sea spider larvae as toddlers! Their chubby little claws, grasping at the world around them. #marineplankton 🦑

Our kitties are enjoying their frozen cat milk cubes! #catsonsky

No thank you. I’m already hot, I don’t need a sugar low and a migraine. No thanks.

Good afternoon, it’s sampling day! 🦑#marineplankton

At first glance, this Ephelota sp. looks pretty static, but in timelapse, you can see the cell and the tentacles are very busy! #marineplankton 🦑 #protistsonsky

I recognise this egg/cyst, but I can’t place it! It’ll be in a paper in my office somewhere. Anyone know what it is? #marineplankton 🦑

X-Files season 10 episode 3 with Rhys Darby. Bloody brilliant!

An ostracod from my latest plankton sample. These crustaceans are also known as seed shrimp. #marineplankton 🦑

That wet concrete smell is strong this eve. I could die happy.

Hubs @jbeston.dev is a genius! I’m getting RSI from copying and pasting all day using the alt+c stuff, so he’s set up some hot keys that’s a single button for each action and I can angle it how I want. Lifesaver!