One scientist zoomed in on the exact moment plastic enters the marine food chain to dramatically demonstrate its threat to ocean life. Richard Kirby, a.k.a. the Plankton Pundit, filmed an arrow ...

providing a key interface for the ecological relationships and chemical exchanges between plants and soil microorganisms. Phytostimulator. An organism or chemical that promotes plant growth.

The pictures show the two types of plankton: the plant-like phytoplankton, and the animal-like zooplankton. The organisms form a food web without which there would be no marine life as we know it.

Plankton may be tiny, but they play an important role in the ocean. As the foundation of marine ecosystems, they support ocean food webs and help regulate Earth's climate by storing carbon.