For the #LEGO #SHIPtember build challenge (build a 100+ stud length spaceship in September) I built Deep Space Scavenging Vessel Oithona: a copepod-inspired spaceship in #UFO style! It uses about 2500 parts.
#MOC

In addition to the copepod I also built a #LEGO crab larva (zoea)! #plankton #MOC
What plankton organism should I build next?

Finally built the #LEGO #copepod I designed in Studio! Especially like the look of the Ninjago swords and scythes for mouthparts and legs. #plankton #MOC

This female Japanese shore crab in the Wadden Sea was busy releasing her babies into the water! You can see the tiny zoea larvae being released into the plankton where they will live for several weeks and many will be eaten. The few survivors settle on the bottom again.

We saw a wide range of fish species during our dive in the Wadden Sea off #Texel such as tompot blenny, whiting, rock gunnel, longspined bullhead, fivebeard rockling and even a seabass!

The huge mussel spatfall in the Wadden Sea caused a feeding frenzy of sea stars and crabs! Likely within a few weeks most of the mussels will be eaten or washed away by the tides.

Diving in the Wadden Sea is rarely possible because of the extremely turbid conditions, but last week we could finally dive again due to very calm conditions. We discovered that every available surface was covered by a thick layer of juvenile mussels "seed"!

Interested in pursuing a PhD in zooplankton ecology? We have three PhD positions available! The PhDs will study different aspects of zooplankton ecology in a changing North Sea, based at
NIOZ with additional supervision by us at WMR.
Info: https://workingat.nioz.nl/o/three-phd-positions-north-sea-zooplankton-dynamics