Phytoplankton are perhaps the most important group of organisms on our planet. They are microscopic, single-celled galaxies that come in many different shapes and sizes. They are the movers and shakers of our marine ecosystems that transfer energy into food webs. Without them, there would be no krill, fish, penguins, seals or albatrosses. Basically, phytoplankton use nutrients from the water and, together with sunshine, create energy (via photosynthesis) that enables them to grow and multiply. When conditions are just right, phytoplankton are capable of erupting into enormous blooms. Below is a satellite image of a phytoplankton bloom associated with upwelling along the edge of a meso-scale eddy north of South Georgia: The focus of my PhD is all about understanding the at-sea movements of two penguin species from Marion Island (the larger of the Prince Edward Islands). Because these penguins feed on krill, and krill feed on phytoplankton, peng...

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