12th April, 2024
CHIRANJIT MITRA
Barrel-shaped, transparent, gelatinous creatures related to sea squirts.
They drift with ocean currents in chains, feeding by filtering tiny plankton from the water.
Salps switch between sexual and asexual reproduction! It's all about creating long chains.
When conditions are right, salp populations explode, creating vast, jelly-like patches in the ocean.
Salp blooms are carbon gobblers! They remove plankton, and their sinking bodies take carbon to the ocean depths.
Sea turtles, fish, and other creatures enjoy a tasty salp snack from time to time.
From their unique shape to their role in the ocean, salps are a reminder of how weird and wonderful marine life is!