Life in a cubic foot of water, Adam Elgar

This is a fantastic image which shows how much life there is in a cubic foot of seawater.

It makes the diet of majestic pelagic filter-feeders like the manta ray and whale sharks more understandable.

It is also worth remembering though that these images under-represent the diversity; it ignores all the organisms too small to see.

In any case, I just bought a copy of the book.

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For A World in One Cubic Foot, esteemed nature photographer David Liittschwager took a bright green metal cube-measuring precisely one cubic foot-and set it in various ecosystems around the world, from Costa Rica to Central Park. Working with local scientists, he measured what moved through that small space in a period of twenty-four hours. He then photographed the cube's setting and the plant, animal, and insect life inside it -- anything visible to the naked eye. The result is a stunning portrait of the amazing diversity that can be found in ecosystems around the globe.

http://kottke.org/14/05/a-splash-of-seawater