Day 3: 10:30 hours… Diving to a depth of 300cm we find ourselves drifting amongst a large population of beautiful green spheres. Each sphere contains a number of small spheres that appear identical to the parent.

12:20 hours… After an exploratory dive, Lyra, our aquatic naturalist, has observed that the spheres are made up of smaller green cells, and that each of these has a pair of whipping flagella. We can deduce that this is how the large round colony spins and moves about, but how do the small individual cells coordinate their efforts?

A closer look reveals that the cells are actually connected by lines! Perhaps these lines carry chemical signals between each cell in the colony that tell them how to direct their flailing flagella.

We observe these delightful orbs for some time. They are quite hypnotic to watch. A sudden surprise draws our attention! One of the large spheres splits open, and the smaller daughter colonies inside escape. This must be how Volvox, as this organism is called, gives birth to new colonies.

Day 3: 14:30 hours… Collision! Emerging from the dark we strike a large object. The crash doors close automatically.  We cannot see what hit us. Luckily, the ship suffers no serious damage

When the crash doors are unshuttered, we finally see the object that collided with Cyclops… it is a Daphnia, also known as the water flea.

Confident that the animal is stunned for a time, Lyra and I will leave the Cyclops in diving suits to get a closer look at the beast.

The first impression is as if looking at a complex animal with the benefit of x-ray vision. We see easily through the Daphnia’s clear shell and can survey all of its internal organs.

Its digestive system appears full of the single celled algae that make up its usual diet.

Its eye is a cluster of light receptors connected to its brain by nerves, controlled by a network of muscles, very much like a human eye.

Its heart beats quickly, pumping a clear fluid through the animal’s body, presumably delivering oxygen to muscles and organs.

And in the back cavity, a cluster of developing eggs is plainly visible!

To be continued…