PASADENA, Calif., Sept. 30 (UPI) -- The popular aquarium pets sold under the brand name Sea-Monkeys aren't actually monkeys at all, but tiny zooplankton known as brine shrimp. Brine shrimp and other swimming planktons regularly gather in the billions. And though they measure only half an inch in length, new research suggests their collective movement can drive ocean currents.
According to a team of Caltech researchers led by John Dabiri, professor of aeronautics and bioengineering, the tiny swimming motions of a school of zooplankton can generate a swirling flow as influential as wind and tides in influencing the vertical mixing of ocean water.