Plankton: Wonders of the Drifting World

A Hidden World Beneath the Waves

They are the ocean’s invisible multitudes—drifting, feeding, reproducing, and shaping the planet in ways most of us never see. Plankton: Wonders of the Drifting World opens a window onto this extraordinary realm, where single-celled algae perform nearly half of Earth’s photosynthesis, gelatinous predators glide through dark water, and microscopic larvae begin journeys that will one day lead to fish, crabs, and corals. Christian Sardet, a marine biologist and cofounder of the Tara Oceans Expedition, has spent decades studying these organisms. Here he brings together lucid prose and breathtaking imagery to reveal a world that is both fragile and foundational.

From Unicellular Giants to Gelatinous Predators

The book moves through the major groups of plankton with an expert’s eye and a naturalist’s enthusiasm. You’ll encounter diatoms encased in glass-like shells, radiolarians with astonishing mineral skeletons, and coccolithophores whose tiny plates form chalk deposits that built mountains. There are cnidarians—jellyfish, siphonophores, and the Portuguese man-of-war—and ctenophores that pulse with iridescent light. Crustacean larvae molt and metamorphose; pteropods swim with wing-like feet; salps and doliolids pump water through their bodies to feed. Each chapter weaves together evolution, ecology, and behavior, always returning to the question of how these creatures survive in a fluid, competitive world.

Why Plankton Matter 🌍

Plankton do more than fascinate. They generate oxygen, sequester carbon in the deep sea, and form the base of marine food webs that sustain fisheries and seabirds. Sardet explains the biological pump that carries carbon from surface waters to the seafloor, the role of plankton in past extinctions and future climate shifts, and the surprising ways human activity—from nutrient runoff to plastic pollution—affects these drifting communities. The Tara Oceans Expedition, which circumnavigated the globe sampling plankton, provides a global perspective that grounds the science in real-world exploration.

Inside the Book

• Prologue by oceanographer Mark Ohman, setting the stage for the diversity of planktonic life
• Detailed chapters on unicellular creatures, ctenophores and cnidarians, crustaceans and mollusks, and worms and tadpoles
• Hundreds of photographs and micrographs that reveal the beauty and complexity of these often-overlooked organisms
• Accessible explanations of taxonomy, evolution, symbiosis, bioluminescence, and feeding strategies
• Bibliography, credits, and index for readers who want to dig deeper

Who Will Enjoy This Book? 📖

If you’re a marine biology student, a naturalist, a photographer captivated by the microscopic world, or simply someone who marvels at the ocean’s diversity, this book offers both a visual feast and a thorough introduction. It assumes no specialist knowledge, yet it doesn’t shy away from the science. The writing is clear and engaging, and the images alone are worth the journey. As Mark Ohman writes in the prologue, ‘It cannot help but whet your appetite for the magnificent organisms of this drifting world, upon which so much of life on Earth depends.’

About the Author

Christian Sardet is a research director at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and a cofounder of the Tara Oceans Expedition. He has authored numerous scientific papers and is also the creator of the Plankton Chronicles website. This English edition was translated from the French by Christian Sardet and Dana Sardet, and edited by Rafael D. Rosengarten and Theodore Rosengarten.