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Protists, Protists Everywhere

WHOI microbiologist Virginia Edgcomb examines a protist-rich pool at the edge of Shark Bay, Australia. Protists are the single-celled progenitors of all multicellular forms of life, including plants, fungi, and animals. Many protist species have adapted to life in extreme environments. From November 28 to December 9, Edgcomb will lead a team of scientists on a cruise aboard R/V Atlantis to study the protists living in DHABs (deep hypersaline anoxic basins), lakes of super-salty water at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. Daily updates from the expedition will be featured on the Dive and Discover website.(Photo by Richard Sperduto, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)