{"id":40277,"date":"2026-01-12T14:15:49","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T14:15:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/ells\/?post_type=teachingbase&#038;p=40277"},"modified":"2026-01-15T05:54:27","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T05:54:27","slug":"diving-into-the-world-of-plankton","status":"publish","type":"teachingbase","link":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/ells\/teachingbase\/diving-into-the-world-of-plankton\/","title":{"rendered":"Diving into the world of plankton"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"vf-tabs\"><ul class=\"vf-tabs__list\" data-vf-js-tabs=\"true\"><li class=\"vf-tabs__item\"><a class=\"vf-tabs__link\" href=\"#vf-tabs__section-6158a84f-80ef-4f3a-a71a-19fd5a2a4be5\" data-vf-js-location-nearest-activation-target=\"\">BIOcean5D project<\/a><\/li><li class=\"vf-tabs__item\"><a class=\"vf-tabs__link\" href=\"#vf-tabs__section-9c12eed2-37b4-4fbe-8391-90928aa5b93a\" data-vf-js-location-nearest-activation-target=\"\">Resource booklet<\/a><\/li><li class=\"vf-tabs__item\"><a class=\"vf-tabs__link\" href=\"#vf-tabs__section-a949b3ba-90c2-49f0-85cd-86e7eaa46ecf\" data-vf-js-location-nearest-activation-target=\"\">Substitutes with a light microscope<\/a><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"vf-tabs-content\" data-vf-js-tabs-content=\"true\">\n<section class=\"vf-tabs__section\" id=\"vf-tabs__section-6158a84f-80ef-4f3a-a71a-19fd5a2a4be5\"><h2>BIOcean5D project<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/biocean5d.org\"><strong>BIOcean5D<\/strong><\/a> is a large, multidisciplinary European research initiative, primarily funded by the EU\u2019s Horizon Europe programme, focused on understanding <em>marine biodiversity<\/em> and how it changes across five dimensions: three-dimensional <em>space<\/em> (geographic variation), <em>time<\/em> (historical to present), and <em>human impact<\/em> (effects of human activities).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Objectives<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Study the full range of ocean biodiversity, from viruses and microbes to larger organisms, by integrating diverse biological, ecological, and environmental data.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Investigate how marine ecosystems have evolved from pre-industrial times to today and how they are being reshaped by human pressures.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Build novel technologies, monitoring tools, and predictive models that link molecular, organismal, ecological, and socio-economic dimensions of marine life.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Create an open-access data hub that harmonises new and existing data from many sources to support research and policy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These results are intended to help guide ecosystem-based management, conservation strategies, and informed decision-making about marine biodiversity and its value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Impact<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>BIOcean5D aims to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Advance scientific understanding of marine biodiversity dynamics.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Produce innovative indicators of ecosystem health.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Support policy-makers and stakeholders with tools and knowledge for long-term sustainable ocean management.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Approach<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>BIOcean5D brings together major European laboratories and research networks, including molecular biology, marine biology, and sequencing centres across 31 partners in 11 countries. One of them, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), contributed to the project and designed a teaching resource to bring plankton research to the classroom. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h4>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"vf-tabs__section\" id=\"vf-tabs__section-9c12eed2-37b4-4fbe-8391-90928aa5b93a\"><h2>Resource booklet<\/h2>\n<p><br><strong>Focus of the resource<\/strong> <strong>&#8220;Diving into the world of plankton using the Curiosity Microscope&#8221; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a teaching lesson designed for secondary school science classrooms focusing on aquatic diversity and plankton. The materials give learners a hands-on experience exploring plankton and understanding their role in ocean ecosystems. Even though the material was initially designed to be used in conjunction with the Curiosity microscope developed through Plankton Planet, all activities can be executed with <strong>a standard light microscope<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>Target Audience<\/strong><br>Secondary school science teachers and their students<br>The resource is particularly useful for classroom activities involving biology, ecology or marine science and for general science classes rather than advanced scientific training. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Duration<\/strong><br>The lesson is structured to be completed in about 2\u20133 class periods (e.g., 2\u20133 lessons).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>Key Learning Outcomes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Learners using this resource will be able to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Explore and identify plankton using microscopy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Understand diversity in aquatic ecosystems, with a focus on marine plankton species.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Connect microscopic observations to broader ecological concepts such as food webs and ocean biodiversity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gain experience with hands-on science learning and scientific observation skills.<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Access to the resource booklet<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>&#8220;Diving into the world of plankton using the Curiosity Microscope&#8221;<\/strong> teaching resource is hosted on Zenodo and exists in the following languages:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>English: <a href=\"https:\/\/zenodo.org\/records\/18246645\">https:\/\/zenodo.org\/records\/18246645<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>German: <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5281\/zenodo.14616180\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5281\/zenodo.14616180<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>French: <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5281\/zenodo.13881028\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5281\/zenodo.13881028<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Italian: <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5281\/zenodo.14616185\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5281\/zenodo.14616185<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Versions in Catalan and Spanish are coming soon!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Instructions in English on how to execute the resource&#8217;s task using a standard light microscope instead of the Curiosity microscope can be downloaded from the next tab<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>Context &amp; Metadata<\/strong><br>Published: August 22, 2024<br>Type: Lesson plan \/ classroom material<br>License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0)<br>Supported by: European Commission\u2014BIOcean5D project funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"vf-tabs__section\" id=\"vf-tabs__section-a949b3ba-90c2-49f0-85cd-86e7eaa46ecf\"><h2>Substitutes with a light microscope<\/h2>\n<p>Instructions in English on how to execute the resource&#8217;s task using a standard light microscope instead of the Curiosity microscope can be downloaded here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1GHIJeKPBrqSD4u69L2--DUxB44Qq_Va6\/view?usp=sharing\" class=\"wp-block-file__button vf-button vf-button--primary vf-button--pill vf-button--s wp-element-button\" download=\"\" aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-ef85e28e-d631-41bf-92b5-56a345736fef\" style=\"margin:0 0 0 .75em;\" rel=\"noopener\">Visualisation under a light microscope<\/a>\n\n<br>\n\n<br>\n\n\n\n<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1d6rKIk92q6jxFJG9lUBCFbtflepTVCPp\/view?usp=sharing\" class=\"wp-block-file__button vf-button vf-button--primary vf-button--pill vf-button--s wp-element-button\" download=\"\" aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-ef85e28e-d631-41bf-92b5-56a345736fef\" style=\"margin:0 0 0 .75em;\" rel=\"noopener\">Sample preparation for observation under a light microscope<\/a>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":40279,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-40277","teachingbase","type-teachingbase","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","age-group-14-16","age-group-16-19","topic-area-environmental-biology"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/ells\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/teachingbase\/40277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/ells\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/teachingbase"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/ells\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/teachingbase"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/ells\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/ells\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}