For this week's Sea Camp, we're diving below the surface to explore the sunlight zone, the portion of ocean that's 0-200 meters deep. This is where phytoplankton eat sunlight, poop out sugar and oxygen and kick off the ocean carbon cycle as we know it.
Our focus is something arguably even cooler: The "superpowers" of some of the zone's spineless inhabitants, like regeneration and super strength. That's what marine biologist Drew Harvell calls the "biological impossibilities" of some residents in her new book The Ocean's Menagerie.
Throughout the episode, we meet these invertebrates, which includes everything from star fish and sea slugs to jellyfish and sponges. This wide-ranging group includes some of the most ancient critters on Earth. Part of their legacy is how they've inspired human science and medicine.
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Want to hear more stories about underwater marvels? Email us and let us know at shortwave@npr.org.
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This episode was produced by Berly McCoy and edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. Jimmy Keeley was the audio engineer.
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