Floating Sargassum Weed
Sargassum fluitans, a.k.a. “Gulfweed,” forms dense clumps up to the size of a beach ball that slowly rotate as they drift. The fronds are quite dense, but if you look carefully, sometimes you can see hints of the rich community that hides in the floating sargassum. Off the coast of Belize Smithsonian Marine Science Network postdoctoral fellow, Seabird McKeon, studies floating seaweeds and the minuscule animals that call them home.
(via: Smithsonian Ocean Portal)
(images: by Seabird McKeon; TR - juveile filefish; BL - crab, genus Portunus; BR - sea slug, genus Scyllaea)
