Elizabeth Beston
@elizabethbeston.bsky.social
Marine plankton, home educator, biology undergrad, autistic, non binary. Norfolk UK. Runs The Plankton Project
linktr.ee/elizabethbeston
linktr.ee/elizabethbeston
A lovely chain of Lauderia annulata diatoms.
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
November 10, 2025 at 8:43 PM
A lovely chain of Lauderia annulata diatoms.
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
There is an ACTUAL bird on my bird feeder!
November 10, 2025 at 10:13 AM
There is an ACTUAL bird on my bird feeder!
This little bivalve larva is having a rummage about, using its foot to pull itself along.
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
November 10, 2025 at 8:22 AM
This little bivalve larva is having a rummage about, using its foot to pull itself along.
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
Lovely business cards for hubby’s business @big-pixel.com Not enough businesses use uncoated cards. A plastic covered one always turns me off.
November 9, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Lovely business cards for hubby’s business @big-pixel.com Not enough businesses use uncoated cards. A plastic covered one always turns me off.
I don’t find many amphipods in my plankton samples - most are benthic (live on the sea floor), but I’ve had 2 in the last 2 weeks! I’ve not ID’d them yet (so please feel free to save me time and ID them for me if you know!).
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
November 9, 2025 at 4:42 PM
I don’t find many amphipods in my plankton samples - most are benthic (live on the sea floor), but I’ve had 2 in the last 2 weeks! I’ve not ID’d them yet (so please feel free to save me time and ID them for me if you know!).
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
The eye of the teeny tiny ciliate storm. A rare look down the opening of a tintinnina lorica.
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
November 8, 2025 at 7:18 PM
The eye of the teeny tiny ciliate storm. A rare look down the opening of a tintinnina lorica.
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
Zooming with my plankton chums!
November 7, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Zooming with my plankton chums!
I have no idea what this microscopic marine worm is, but I want to know so bad!! If you have any ideas, please let me know.
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
November 7, 2025 at 2:50 PM
I have no idea what this microscopic marine worm is, but I want to know so bad!! If you have any ideas, please let me know.
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
Reposted by Elizabeth Beston
TIL about brackish water jellyfish like this Bay Nettle in the Chesapeake Bay. Cute little things.
www.vims.edu/bayinfo/jell...
www.vims.edu/bayinfo/jell...
November 7, 2025 at 4:22 AM
TIL about brackish water jellyfish like this Bay Nettle in the Chesapeake Bay. Cute little things.
www.vims.edu/bayinfo/jell...
www.vims.edu/bayinfo/jell...
Only the second radiolarian I’ve seen in my life, and this one is a chonks!
#marineplankton #protistsonsky 🦑
#marineplankton #protistsonsky 🦑
November 6, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Only the second radiolarian I’ve seen in my life, and this one is a chonks!
#marineplankton #protistsonsky 🦑
#marineplankton #protistsonsky 🦑
Does everyone become incapable of eating a ‘proper’ dinner in the evening as they become older? Acid reflux every. Damn. Time.
November 6, 2025 at 7:38 AM
Does everyone become incapable of eating a ‘proper’ dinner in the evening as they become older? Acid reflux every. Damn. Time.
The arrow worms are back! Chaetognatha are relatively large carnivorous predators of the plankton (although some are omnivorous) that appear around autumn to feast on smaller zooplankton like copepods! I had lots in my sample this week!
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
November 5, 2025 at 8:56 PM
The arrow worms are back! Chaetognatha are relatively large carnivorous predators of the plankton (although some are omnivorous) that appear around autumn to feast on smaller zooplankton like copepods! I had lots in my sample this week!
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
A rare find for me, a female Pseudodiaptomus marinus copepod. Big and beautiful!
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
November 5, 2025 at 9:28 AM
A rare find for me, a female Pseudodiaptomus marinus copepod. Big and beautiful!
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
A colourful copepod nauplius from yesterday’s plankton sample.
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
November 4, 2025 at 8:51 PM
A colourful copepod nauplius from yesterday’s plankton sample.
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
It’s #worldjellyfishday ! Medusae, that are often considered jellyfish, can be hydroids, or they can be true jellyfish (Scyphozoa). Only true jellyfish have the life stage you can see in this video, the ephyra. #marineplankton 🦑
November 3, 2025 at 8:53 PM
It’s #worldjellyfishday ! Medusae, that are often considered jellyfish, can be hydroids, or they can be true jellyfish (Scyphozoa). Only true jellyfish have the life stage you can see in this video, the ephyra. #marineplankton 🦑
The arrow worms are here @rodneyforster.bsky.social !
November 3, 2025 at 8:27 PM
The arrow worms are here @rodneyforster.bsky.social !
Reposted by Elizabeth Beston
Centric Diatoms in Action!
New MBA research shows that when nitrogen and phosphorus are scarce, these microscopic phytoplankton prioritise nitrogen uptake, “switching off” phosphorus sensing-yet bounce back quickly when nutrients return. 🌱✨
🔗 Read more: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
New MBA research shows that when nitrogen and phosphorus are scarce, these microscopic phytoplankton prioritise nitrogen uptake, “switching off” phosphorus sensing-yet bounce back quickly when nutrients return. 🌱✨
🔗 Read more: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
November 3, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Centric Diatoms in Action!
New MBA research shows that when nitrogen and phosphorus are scarce, these microscopic phytoplankton prioritise nitrogen uptake, “switching off” phosphorus sensing-yet bounce back quickly when nutrients return. 🌱✨
🔗 Read more: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
New MBA research shows that when nitrogen and phosphorus are scarce, these microscopic phytoplankton prioritise nitrogen uptake, “switching off” phosphorus sensing-yet bounce back quickly when nutrients return. 🌱✨
🔗 Read more: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Good afternoon. A late plankton sample today. #marineplankton 🦑
November 3, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Good afternoon. A late plankton sample today. #marineplankton 🦑
Reposted by Elizabeth Beston
i got one too! lol
November 3, 2025 at 12:43 PM
i got one too! lol
This spermy-looking tadpole dude is the larva of a sea squirt, and it’s rare for me to find one so active! Enjoy! P.S. on my other platforms I coupled this with ‘Every Sperm is Sacred’ by Monty Python. Here, you’ll have to sing it yourselves!
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
November 3, 2025 at 10:16 AM
This spermy-looking tadpole dude is the larva of a sea squirt, and it’s rare for me to find one so active! Enjoy! P.S. on my other platforms I coupled this with ‘Every Sperm is Sacred’ by Monty Python. Here, you’ll have to sing it yourselves!
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
Does anyone else get Audrey II vibes from this ctenophore larva?!
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
November 2, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Does anyone else get Audrey II vibes from this ctenophore larva?!
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
This Spionidae worm has Saturday night disco fever! What a gorgeous wiggle!
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
November 1, 2025 at 8:30 PM
This Spionidae worm has Saturday night disco fever! What a gorgeous wiggle!
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
The gorgeous trunk of an appendicularian. This little package hold all the bits this tunicate needs, like the mouth and anus amongst other things. The bit that looks like a brain is the animals ripe gonads!
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
October 31, 2025 at 8:25 PM
The gorgeous trunk of an appendicularian. This little package hold all the bits this tunicate needs, like the mouth and anus amongst other things. The bit that looks like a brain is the animals ripe gonads!
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑