Salps are transparent, tubular, jelly-like animals that live in all oceans but are seldom seen. This species, Salpa aspera, can multiply into extensive swarms when conditions are right. Feeding on microscopic plants, they remove significant quantities of organic (carbon-containing) material from upper ocean waters. The brown spot is the salp's stomach. (Photo by Laurence Madin, Wood Hole Oceanographic Institution)[back]
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