Sea StrugglesThis photograph captures a life-or-death struggle between two ferocious sea beasts. Onl

Sea StrugglesThis photograph captures a life-or-death struggle between two ferocious sea beasts. Only one will survive this encounter. Both are less than a millimetre long.In the upper left is a foraminifera, Orbulina universa. This complex tangle of spines is formed by a single celled organism, much like an amoeba. The object that looks like a piece of popcorn in the centre of the spines is a porous calcite (calcium carbonate) shell that the foraminifera makes and lives around. Each of the spines protruding from the central shell is a single crystal of calcite, with a thin tendril of the cell running up it. The golden dots along these spines are photosynthetic microbes that live in these extended tendrils, which the cell “farms” for food. Each night the foraminifera brings the microbes into the safety of the central shell, where they deliver packets of sugar they have made during the day: a superb example of a symbiotic relationship.In the lower right is a calanoid copepod, a microscopic crustacean. This complex, multi-cellular beast is a very different story. It is a powerful, ambush predator in this microscopic world. It has two sets of antennae crammed with tactile and chemical sensors, finely tuned for detecting prey and avoiding predators. The larger antennae also act as its main form of propulsion, allowing it to zip through the water with surprising speed. Its compact, transparent body has five pairs of legs, a heart and a central nervous system. A world apart from the nebulous, drifting foraminifera.The copepod is an advanced and active predator, but it doesn’t stand a chance against the foraminifera. Besides being a benevolent farmer, Orbulina universa is also a voracious predator, capable of catching and consuming prey many times its size. The foraminifera does not hunt actively, but sticky tendrils out beyond the tips of its spines can act like a microscopic cobweb - a trap for an unsuspecting visitor like the copepod. This copepod was completely devoured in just a few hours.OBImage Credit: Oscar BransonMore about foraminifera, and why we’re interested in them (video): http://goo.gl/gufXtHHow copepods hunt: http://goo.gl/WoIoDy -- source link

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