| Phytoplankton are by definition autotrophic microorganisms that passively drift with fluid motion. Accordingly, the traditional view of a turbulence-homogenized phytoplankton distribution in the ocean, where cells randomly organize and interact, is deeply rooted in biological oceanography studies. However, increasing understanding of microscopic processes in the ocean is revealing a world of microscale patterns resulting from cell behaviors and fluid-cell interactions that challenges this vision. Autotrophic cells have developed active (i.e., flagella) and passive (i.e., morphological structures and vesicles) motility mechanisms that allow them different degrees of spatial control. Their complex interaction with the ocean physicochemical landscape commonly... |
