Drift, 31.5” acrylic on maple panel, 2019

Arctic Wonders Series (1/3) Zooplankton from the Arctic Ocean for a permanent ‘Change’ exhibit on Endurance National Geographic & Lindblad.

All of the magnified zooplankton in this painting combined, could easily fit in the palm of your hand. The large torpedo-like creature on the left is the sea angel Clione limacine, chasing after it’s favorite meal, the sea butterfly Limacina helicina (top center). Clione are very abundant in the Arctic sea, providing a major food source for marine animals. Some species like the red and yellow Hymendora glacialis shrimp (top left) hitch rides on pelagic hydrozoa jellyfish, while other crustaceans ride inside the bells of drifting barrels. Polychaete worms (right) usually live hidden beneath rocks or within the silty bottom of the Arctic ocean. Some amphipods, like the hyperiid (center), even kidnap sea butterflies and carry them like a backpack for chemical defense.

Special thanks to National Geographic, Lindblad, and all the biologists who made this painting possible. Most of all, Steven Haddock and Wyatt Patry from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Bart Shepard from the CA Academy of Sciences, and Alexander Semenov at Moscow State University’s White Sea Biological Station, and Charlotte Havermans from the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research.