A pteropod , Limacina retroversa . These are tiny planktonic snails which live in the water column feeding on even samllerzooplankton such as forams . Image about 5mm high . @ Vicky Peck
A surprising addition to our catch were fragments of volcanic debris such as glass and pumice . Fresh volcanic ash is super-fertile and may account for the high productivity we observed at this station , however , since there have been no recent eruptions likely to have deposited fresh ash in this region , we assume that this ash has been knocking around for quite a while and has probably lost much of its potency .
Today , the bucket was bare ! Although a peppering of volcanic ash accompanied our catch , there were only a couple of foraminifera and not a single pteropod .
The hunt continues …
Planktonic forams , mostly Neogloboquadrina pachyderma .
These are single-celled animals a bit like amoebas , but with a calcareous shell . Image about 0.5mm wide . @ Vicky Peck
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