Plankton are much more interesting than you might think

Plankton are not commonly considered a charismatic part of creation; even the name sounds nerdy. This is unfair, as plankton are extraordinary. Half the oxygen on earth is made by them; the largest daily migration on the planet is theirs. Sometimes, they even manage to look glitzy. Slip into a midsummer sea at night and, if you are in the right place, the water will glow and flicker around your body like fire: that is plankton, phosphorescing. Much of what is known about them is because of those small metal boxes—they are called Continuous Plankton Recorders (CPRs)—that have been towed across the seas for almost a century.