can change their physiology quite rapidly , the fluorescence data is able to give us an immediate insight into what ’ s going on in our experimental bottles .
I ’ m often asked what ’ s so important about phytoplankton , and why I bother studying them at all . I think the most easily appreciated example of their significance is in the incredible diversity of the Southern Ocean . Every day of our cruise has been filled with wildlife of some description , whether it ’ s a majestic albatross gliding effortlessly along the air currents , porpoising penguins bouncing through the water , or a pair of chubby seals hauled out on an ice floe . The mainstay of many of these animals is krill , either eating it directly , or feeding on the fish and assorted invertebrates that prey on it . The krill in turn are sustained by phytoplankton , the marine world ’ s main primary producers that use the sun ’ s light to convert carbon from the inorganic form of carbon dioxide into organic compounds that can be used by living things .
The diverse result of phytoplankton productivity . Left to right : black-browed albatross , chinstrap penguins , fin whale ( top row ); crabeater seals , snow petrel , Antarctic fur seal ( second row ); wandering albatross , cape petrels , Antarctic minke whale ( bottom row ) @ Laura Bretherton
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