Salps are gelatinous animals that live in the open ocean, but are closely related to the "sea squirts" (tunicates) seen in tidepools. Colonial salps often form long chains, with new animals budding off from others in the chain. These chains can reach lengths of up to 15 meters (nearly 50 feet) and are one of the fastest-growing animals on the planet. ⁠

via mbari-blog

#salps

27-Jun-2025
Tiny ocean migrants play a massive role in #SouthernOcean #carbonStorage

A groundbreaking study has revealed that small but mighty #zooplankton—including #copepods, #krill, and #salps—are key players in the Southern #Ocean’s ability to absorb and store #carbon.

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1089054 #science #ecology #climateCatastrophe

It’s the little things that count https://aappartnership.org.au/its-the-little-things-that-count/

"Deep inside the icebreaker RSV #Nuyina off the coast of East #Antarctica, as 9-metre swells and 50-knot gales rage outside, the #plankton team is busy collecting tiny creatures with the wet well: a unique sampling space below the waterline, connected to the ocean by large inlets... the wet well enables particularly fragile #animals, like #salps and #jellyfish, to be captured alive and in good condition."

WRITER FUEL: Salps: The world's fastest-growing animals that look like bottles of snot.

https://www.limfic.com/2024/12/02/writer-fuel-the-sea-animal-that-looks-like-a-bottle-of-snot/

#LimFic #LiminalFiction #WriterFuel #Writers #Authors #WritersofMastodon #StoryIdeas #Oceans #Biology #Salps

Underwater starfield: A swimmer’s encounter with creatures of the open ocean https://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/underwater-starfield-salps

"below me, I see something else: a host of gleaming creatures, catching the daylight, shining in relief against the black bottom. These long, translucent chains look like #ocean peapods, flecked with orange. There are more than I can count, and they are layered along the bottom in every direction... We are swimming through a bloom of #salps"

Characterizing #salps as predators of marine microbes
https://phys.org/news/2024-03-characterizing-salps-predators-marine-microbes.html

Ubiquitous #FilterFeeders shape open #ocean microbial community structure and function: Anne Thompson et al. https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/3/3/pgae091/7626926

"A huge fraction of global flows of #carbon and other nutrients pass through marine #microbes. Little is known about their causes of death, however. This information determines where those nutrients will go."

Characterizing #salps as #predators of marine #microbes.

#plankton #Crocosphaera #Synechococcus #diatoms, #Chrysochromulina

https://phys.org/news/2024-03-characterizing-salps-predators-marine-microbes.html

#Microplastic found in #Antarctic #krill and #salps
https://phys.org/news/2023-03-microplastic-antarctic-krill-salps.html

"A new study led by researchers at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) discovered #microplastics in krill (#Euphausia superba), a small shrimp-like crustacean, and salps (#Salpa thompsoni), a gelatinous #marine #invertebrate"

The results are published in the journal Royal Society Open Science

#environment #pollution #plastic #marinedebris #conservation #sustainability #food

Jet-Propelled #Tunicates Pump #Carbon Through the Oceans https://eos.org/research-spotlights/jet-propelled-tunicates-pump-carbon-through-the-oceans

Populations of these gelatinous #zooplankton are episodic, patchy. Sometimes they bloom and form huge aggregations. Their feces, daily migrations, and sinking carcasses sequester carbon into the #DeepSea. This is especially prominent in retentive or low-export #FoodWebs.

The Outsized Role of #Salps in Carbon Export in the #Subarctic Northeast #PacificOcean: Deborah Steinberg et al. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2022GB007523