If they make it to Sri Lanka, they could become one of more than 1,000 manta rays caught for their gill plates each year. Proper conservation of these enigmatic animals requires the right knowledge.
Kevin Flynn, a plankton ecologist at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, has also pursued his own deep curiosity. His research has taken him to explore something called the mixoplankton paradigm, which turns out a lot of what we thought we knew about plankton is wrong.
“Over the last decade, we’ve learned that a lot of photosynthetic plankton (phytoplankton) isn’t growing as fast as marine science has thought it would over the last century,” he explains.
“Not only do they fix carbon dioxide like land plants do, but they also eat bacteria, competitors and sometimes even predators.”
bonding
Some of these mixed plankton even steal body parts of other plankton to obtain nutrients through diet as well as photosynthesis.
Not only does this discovery give us a fascinating revelation about how marine ecosystems work, it also highlights the importance of remaining open-minded, Flynn says: “We weren’t trying to be biased, but we had preconceived ideas based on how life on land works.”
The discovery was perplexing: “If marine science has missed the significance of the cross-ocean effects of such a fundamental trick of nature, what else is waiting to be discovered?”
The more we learn, the more complicated the conspiracy seems to become: Scientists recently confirmed the first recorded instance of a killer whale killing a great white shark, raising questions about the mechanism by which the orca disembowels the shark.
Similarly, the recent first documentation of humpback whales mating, involving two males, has led researchers to wonder whether they do this for social bonding, to show dominance, or for some other purpose — each answer leaving us with yet another cliffhanger that leaves us wanting to know more.
Mystery
We know there’s still a lot we’re missing: Experts still don’t know where whale sharks and manta rays give birth. Humaam Nihad, an intern with the Maldives Manta Conservation Program, wants to find out the answer to that question and where young whale sharks spend the first few years of their lives.
Finding the answer is important for conservation efforts, he explains: “Because neither of these animals have been seen giving birth in the wild, it will be crucial to protect the areas these endangered animals use during the birthing season.”
How can we adequately protect and restore important ecosystems if we don’t know which habitats species use and how they do it? Similarly, how can we protect biodiversity from the effects of human activities and climate change if we don’t know how these will affect biodiversity?
Like me, scientists and conservationists around the world are searching for answers to the ocean’s intriguing mysteries — and it’s essential that they do so because the ocean supports all life on Earth.
This author
Melissa Hobson is Freelance writer He specializes in marine science, conservation and sustainability. He learned to scuba dive about 15 years ago and has been fascinated by the ocean ever since. Revival and the Ecologist magazine.
