Tiny Titans

Most animals are insects. Whether you count numbers of species or simple mass, insects dominate the animal world. They inhabit almost every conceivable niche, yet some groups of small, seemingly insignificant insects, remain poorly understood. What role do these 'dark taxa' play in global ecosystems? Can't we afford to lose a few midges? Let's try and tackle these questions before climate change and habitat loss answer them for us!

Phytoplankton are the single-celled organisms that are responsible for much of the photosynthesis in the ocean. Diatoms, a type of phytoplankton, do about 20% of global primary production (turning sunlight and carbon dioxide into organisms, using photosynthesis), form the nutritional basis of most wild fisheries, and … are incredibly beautiful and interesting. During this talk, we’ll learn about the microscopic photosynthesizers that power marine food webs, their role in our changing ecosystem and climate, and get a diatom’s view of our rapidly changing oceans.