Smithsonian Marine Science Network Postdoctoral Fellow, Seabird McKeon, returns from the Smithsonian field site in Belize. Together with Dan Barshis of Stanford University, Seabird reports on the seemingly invisible inhabitants of drifting sargassum seaweeds. As with many parts of the ocean, a ball of sargassum is more than meets the eye. Check out his blog post to learn about the world adrift.
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A World Adrift: Life in the Sargassum Slideshow
Shrimp hides in the sargassum
Credit: Seabird McKeonOne of the most common inhabitants of the sargassum community, the shrimp Latreutes fucorum (Hippolytidae) is perfectly colored to hide on the leaf-like blades.
Off the coast of Belize, Smithsonian Marine Science Network postdoctoral fellow, Seabird McKeon, studies floating seaweeds and the minuscule animals that call them home. Check out his slide show and blog and be amazed by the vast array of tiny life forms floating in the world adrift.
Floating Sargassum Seaweed
Credit: Seabird McKeonSargassum fluitans, a.k.a. “Gulfweed,” forms dense clumps up to the size of a beach ball that slowly rotate as they drift. The fronds are quite dense, but if you look carefully, sometimes you can see hints of the rich community that hides in the floating sargassum.
Off the coast of Belize, Smithsonian Marine Science Network postdoctoral fellow, Seabird McKeon, studies floating seaweeds and the minuscule animals that call them home. Check out his slide show and blog and be amazed by the vast array of tiny life forms floating in the world adrift.
Tiny Crab in the Sargassum
Credit: Seabird McKeonThe sargassum is coated with encrusting organisms, such as bryozoans and hydroids, that use it as a perch to filter feed in the oceanic waters, as well as crustaceans such as thos swimming crab Portunus sayi. Off the coast of Belize, Smithsonian Marine Science Network postdoctoral fellow Seabird McKeon studies floating seaweeds and the minuscule animals that call them home. Check out his slide show and blog and be amazed by the vast array of tiny life forms floating in the world adrift.
Adult Swimming Crab
Credit: Seabird McKeonWhen they get larger, Portunus sayi are formidable predators, quick to consume any smaller animal that comes within reach. Fish, other crustaceans, and even smaller members of their own species are not safe from this hungry sargassum swimming crab.
Off the coast of Belize, Smithsonian Marine Science Network postdoctoral fellow, Seabird McKeon, studies floating seaweeds and the minuscule animals that call them home. Check out his slide show and blog and be amazed by the vast array of tiny life forms floating in the world adrift.
Juvenile plane-head filefish
Credit: Seabird McKeonRelatively slow moving, juvenile plane-head filefish Monacanthus hispidus (Monacanthidae) travel along with the algae. They pick off and eat small animals as they move around in the rotating sargassum ball. Adult filefish only grow to be about 11 inches long.
Off the coast of Belize, Smithsonian Marine Science Network postdoctoral fellow, Seabird McKeon, studies floating seaweeds and the minuscule animals that call them home. Check out his slide show and blog and be amazed by the vast array of tiny life forms floating in the world adrift.
Seaslug Camouflages in Seaweed
Credit: Seabird McKeonWinner of the ‘best camouflage’ contest, the nudibranch Scyllaea pelagica (Scyllaeidae) is usually betrayed only by its motion. Along its back, the sea slug has growths called papillae that help its masterful disguise. The papillae resemble the sargassum's own hydroids that these sea slugs love to graze.
Off the coast of Belize, Smithsonian Marine Science Network postdoctoral fellow, Seabird McKeon, studies floating seaweeds and the minuscule animals that call them home. Check out his slide show and blog and be amazed by the vast array of tiny life forms floating in the world adrift
Brown Grass Shrimp
Credit: Seabird McKeonAnother common species of sargassum shrimp, Leander tenuicornis (Palaemonidae) can be spotted by its long transparent claws or "chelae". Very similar shrimp are found in near shore habitats all around the world. Using genetic tests we may determine if they are the same species, or two different species that look the same.
Off the coast of Belize, Smithsonian Marine Science Network postdoctoral fellow, Seabird McKeon, studies floating seaweeds and the minuscule animals that call them home. Check out his slide show and blog and be amazed by the vast array of tiny life forms floating in the world adrift.
Sargassum Frogfish
Credit: Seabird McKeonThe sargassum frogfish Histrio histrio (Antennariidae) is a small but voracious predator - it can ingest animals up to its own size! The fins of the frogfish are perfect for creeping around in the algae and stalking unsuspecting prey.
Off the coast of Belize, Smithsonian Marine Science Network postdoctoral fellow, Seabird McKeon, studies floating seaweeds and the minuscule animals that call them home. Check out his slide show and blog and be amazed by the vast array of tiny life forms floating in the world adrift.
Frogfish Histrio histrio
Credit: Seabird McKeonThe Sargassum frogfish Histrio histrio (Antennariidae) is a small but voracious predator - it can ingest animals up to it’s own size! The fins of the frogfish are perfect for creeping around in the algae and stalking unsuspecting prey.
Off the coast of Belize, Smithsonian Marine Science Network postdoctoral fellow, Seabird McKeon, studies floating seaweeds and the minuscule animals that call them home. Check out his slide show and blog and be amazed by the vast array of tiny life forms floating in the world adrift.