ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Tierney Thys - Marine biologist
Tierney Thys is a marine biologist and science educator. She studies the behavior of the Mola mola, or giant ocean sunfish -- and works with other scientists to make films that share the wonders they see.

Why you should listen

Marine biologist Tierney Thys has fallen head over heels for a big, goofy fish: the Mola mola, or giant ocean sunfish. In studying the mola -- where they go, what they eat, what eats them -- she's also hunting for clues to the behavior of all life in the open ocean. With their enormous, odd bodies, peaceful habits and lust for jellyfish, these giants can be key to understanding life in the open ocean. Thys and her team are tagging and tracking molas worldwide to learn about how they live, and how climate change may be affecting all ocean life.

Thys is a National Geographic Explorer with a passion for marine education. She was also past director of research at the Sea Studios Foundation, a team of scientists and filmmakers that makes media to raise awareness of environmental issues -- including the PBS series Strange Days on Planet Earth and targeted videos that influence policymakers and businesspeople. Sea Studios was also instrumental in helping eBay stop the trading of invasive species.

More profile about the speaker
Tierney Thys | Speaker | TED.com
Plankton Chronicles Project - Scientific research team
The Plankton Chronicles Project uses state-of-the-art optics to reveal the beauty and diversity of planktonic organisms. It was initiated by Christian Sardet, Noé Sardet and Sharif Mirshak.

Why you should listen

The Plankton Chronicles Project combines art and science, revealing the beauty and diversity of planktonic organisms. Plankton samples are collected and filmed at the Villefranche-sur-Mer Marine Station and on board the schooner Tara using dark field optics and macro lenses or microscopes equipped with HD SLR cameras. Christian Sardet from the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and Noé Sardet and Sharif Mirshak from Parafilms (Montreal) initiated the project in the context of the Tara Oceans expedition.

Plankton Chronicles are sponsored by the CNRS, the Pierre et Marie Curie University in Paris (UPMC) and the Groupement d'Interet Scientifique IBISA.

More profile about the speaker
Plankton Chronicles Project | Speaker | TED.com
TED-Ed

Tierney Thys and Plankton Chronicles Project: The secret life of plankton

Tierney Thys + Plankton Chronicles Project: The secret life of plankton

Filmed:
1,440,282 views

New videography techniques have opened up the oceans' microscopic ecosystem, revealing it to be both mesmerizingly beautiful and astoundingly complex. Explore this hidden world that underpins our own food chain -- in the first-ever TEDTalk given by a fish ...
- Marine biologist
Tierney Thys is a marine biologist and science educator. She studies the behavior of the Mola mola, or giant ocean sunfish -- and works with other scientists to make films that share the wonders they see. Full bio - Scientific research team
The Plankton Chronicles Project uses state-of-the-art optics to reveal the beauty and diversity of planktonic organisms. It was initiated by Christian Sardet, Noé Sardet and Sharif Mirshak. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

(Música)
00:30
[Stories from the Sea]
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'Histórias do mar',
'Contos de peixe: Minha vida secreta como Plancton'
00:34
[Fish Tale
My Secret Life as Plankton]
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(Música)
Como cheguei aqui?
00:42
How did I get here?
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00:45
Well, it's a stranger story
than you might think.
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Bem, é uma história mais estranha do que você pensa.
00:50
I came from a world of drifters,
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Vim de um mundo à deriva,
00:53
a place few humans have ever seen.
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de um lugar que poucos humanos viram.
O mundo dos planctons.
00:56
The world of plankton.
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01:00
I came from a batch of a million eggs,
and only a few of us survived.
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Vim de uma fornada de 1 milhão de ovos,
dos quais poucos de nós sobrevivemos.
01:08
When I became a larva,
I moved among other drifters.
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Quando me tornei uma larva,
me mexi entre outros à deriva.
01:12
["Plankton" comes from the Greek
"planktos" for wandering]
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'Plancton vem do grego planktos de vaguear'
01:21
My fellow plankton came in all sizes,
from tiny algae and bacteria
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Meus colegas plancton vêm em todos os tamanhos,
de uma pequena alga e bactéria
01:26
to animals longer than a blue whale.
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a animais maiores do que uma baleia azul.
Compartilho meu ninho
01:33
I shared my nursery
with other embryos and juveniles,
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com outros embriões e recém-nascidos,
01:38
from clams and crabs
to sea urchins and anemones.
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de conchas e carangueijos a ouriço do mar e anêmonas.
(barulho de planctons)
01:45
(High pitch sound)
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01:46
We drifting animals
are called zooplankton.
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Nós, animais à deriva somos chamados de zooplancton.
01:51
The most common animals here
are copepods and krill.
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Os animais mais comuns aqui
são o copepode e o krill.
01:56
(Buzzing)
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Você pode pesquisar o mundo,
01:59
You could search the world over,
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02:01
but you'd never find a place
more diverse than my childhood home.
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mas nunca achará um lugar com a diversidade da minha casa de infância.
02:06
A teaspoon of seawater
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Um colher das de chá de água do mar
02:08
can contain more
than a million living creatures.
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pode conter mais de 1 milhão de seres vivos.
Entretanto pode ser uma vida muito difícil.
02:14
It can be a pretty tough
existence, though.
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02:17
Trillions are born here,
but only a few make it to adulthood.
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Trilhões nascem aqui,
mas pouquíssimos chegam à vida adulta.
Ele pode ser menor do que uma cabeça de alfinete,
02:27
He may be no larger than a pin head,
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02:29
but this crab larva
is an arrow worm's worst nightmare.
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mas esta larva de carangueijo é o pior pesadelo para uma quetognata.
02:35
(Bumping noises)
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(barulho de planctons)
02:45
(Buzzing)
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02:48
Epic battles between carnivores
like these are just one way to get food.
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As batalhas épicas entre carnívoros como estes são apenas um jeito de conseguir alimento.
02:54
But the real powers
of this place come from phytoplankton.
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Mas a verdadeira força deste lugar vem do fitoplancton:
vida unicelular
03:00
Single-celled life
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que transforma a luz do sol e o dioxido de carbono em
03:01
that transforms sunlight
and carbon dioxide
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03:04
into edible gold.
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ouro comestível.
03:13
Phytoplankton are the base
for the largest food web in the world.
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Os fitoplanctons são a base da maior cadeia alimentar do mundo.
03:19
During the night,
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Durante a noite,
03:21
many animals like me
would rise up from the depths
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muitos animais como eu poderia ascender das profundezas
03:24
to feed on this sun-powered feast.
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para se alimentar neste banquete gerado pelo sol.
(barulho do planktons)
03:28
(Maraca sound)
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03:31
I was part of the largest daily
migration of life on Earth.
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Eu estava no maior grupo de migração de vida diária na Terra.
03:38
During the day,
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Durante o dia,
03:39
I'd return to the darkness,
where I'd join my bizarre companions.
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preferia voltar para a escuridão, onde me juntaria aos meus companheiros.
(barulho de planctons)
03:45
(High pitch buzz)
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03:47
(Flapping noises)
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03:48
Cannibals, like this
sea butterfly mollusk,
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Os canibais, como este molusco borboleta,
03:51
that eats its next of kin.
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que come seu igual.
03:57
And comb jellies,
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E a água-viva,
03:59
that beat cilia like rainbowed eyelashes.
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que bate os cabelinhos como um cílio.
04:08
Some of these snare
their prey with sticky tentacles,
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Algumas prendem suas prezas com tentáculos com espetos,
04:12
while others just take
a bite out of their cousins.
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enquanto outras só dão uma mordida nos seus primos.
04:18
And siphonophores
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E sifonóforos
04:19
that catch prey with toxic fishing lures.
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que pegam a presa com um atrativo de peixes tóxico.
04:28
But my favorite would have
to be the crustacean Phronima.
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Mas meu favorito seria o crustáceo Phronima;
04:33
Its monstrous looks inspired
the movie "Aliens."
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seu olhar monstruoso inspirou o filme 'Aliens'
04:38
It can catch tiny bits in its bristles,
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Consegue capturar pequenos pedaços em suas cerdas
04:41
but prefers larger prey like salps.
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mas prefere presas maiores como os salpas.
04:47
With two sets of eyes,
this female prowls the deeper water.
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Com dois pares de olhos, esta femea vasculha as águas profundas.
04:54
Prey in hand,
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Presa nas mãos,
04:56
she performs one
of the strangest behaviors
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ela tem o mais estranho comportamente de todo o reino animal.
04:58
in the entire animal kingdom.
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05:03
With body parts from her victims,
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Com as partes do corpo de suas vítimas,
05:06
she delicately assembles
a barrel-like home
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ela monta delicadamente uma casa no formato de um barril
05:09
feeding her young until they can drift off
and survive on their own.
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alimentando seus pequenos até que eles possam vaguear e sobreviver sozinhos.
05:17
Best of all, they make the perfect
snack for a small fish like me.
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Melhor de tudo, eles são o perfeito aperitivo para um pequeno peixe como eu.
05:25
Here among the plankton,
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Aqui entre os plancton,
05:27
the food web is so tangled and complex,
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a cadeia alimentar é tão emaranhada e complexa,
05:31
even scientists don't know who eats whom.
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que mesmo os cientistas não sabem quem come quem.
Mas eu sei.
05:36
But I do.
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05:41
At least now you know a bit of my story.
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Pelo menos agora você conhece um pouco da minha história.
05:45
There's so much more to me
than just a tasty meal.
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Há muito mais de mim do que apenas ser uma comida saborosa.
Escrito por: Tierney Thys & Christian Sardet
Narrado por; Kirk Lombard
Animaçao de: Noe Sardet
Translated by Nadja Nathan
Reviewed by Wanderley Jesus

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ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Tierney Thys - Marine biologist
Tierney Thys is a marine biologist and science educator. She studies the behavior of the Mola mola, or giant ocean sunfish -- and works with other scientists to make films that share the wonders they see.

Why you should listen

Marine biologist Tierney Thys has fallen head over heels for a big, goofy fish: the Mola mola, or giant ocean sunfish. In studying the mola -- where they go, what they eat, what eats them -- she's also hunting for clues to the behavior of all life in the open ocean. With their enormous, odd bodies, peaceful habits and lust for jellyfish, these giants can be key to understanding life in the open ocean. Thys and her team are tagging and tracking molas worldwide to learn about how they live, and how climate change may be affecting all ocean life.

Thys is a National Geographic Explorer with a passion for marine education. She was also past director of research at the Sea Studios Foundation, a team of scientists and filmmakers that makes media to raise awareness of environmental issues -- including the PBS series Strange Days on Planet Earth and targeted videos that influence policymakers and businesspeople. Sea Studios was also instrumental in helping eBay stop the trading of invasive species.

More profile about the speaker
Tierney Thys | Speaker | TED.com
Plankton Chronicles Project - Scientific research team
The Plankton Chronicles Project uses state-of-the-art optics to reveal the beauty and diversity of planktonic organisms. It was initiated by Christian Sardet, Noé Sardet and Sharif Mirshak.

Why you should listen

The Plankton Chronicles Project combines art and science, revealing the beauty and diversity of planktonic organisms. Plankton samples are collected and filmed at the Villefranche-sur-Mer Marine Station and on board the schooner Tara using dark field optics and macro lenses or microscopes equipped with HD SLR cameras. Christian Sardet from the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and Noé Sardet and Sharif Mirshak from Parafilms (Montreal) initiated the project in the context of the Tara Oceans expedition.

Plankton Chronicles are sponsored by the CNRS, the Pierre et Marie Curie University in Paris (UPMC) and the Groupement d'Interet Scientifique IBISA.

More profile about the speaker
Plankton Chronicles Project | Speaker | TED.com