Swarm of underwater robots helps scientists study ocean dynamics

A swarm of seafaring robots unleashed by researchers at UC San Diego has discovered how plankton might get together to have sex: by harnessing the motion of the ocean. The robots, described in the journal Nature Communications, shed fresh light on the mysterious behaviors of the tiny but legion creatures that help form the foundation of marine food chains. Scientists have long tried to study plankton, a catchall term for a diverse array of living things that reside in large bodies of water. Plankton can include bacteria, algae and even tiny animals, but these disparate groups and species share at least one characteristic: an inability to swim against a current. As you can imagine, this has the potential to put a big crimp in a little plankter's love life.