Invertebrates in the news #2 - David Liittschwager’s images in National Geographic

For this second edition of invertebrates in the news, I chose to follow up on a previous post. In early December, Seabird reported on David Liittschwager's visit in Moorea. As announced at the time, the pictures he took during his visit are published in the February issue of National Geographic.

The photographs illustrate a feature article written by E. O. Wilson that emphasizes how important -- and yet little known -- are the small organisms that live in the soil, in the sea, around us. To unravel some of this diversity, David Liitschwager went to six different ecosystems around the globe, and carried with him a green metal-frame cube. At each location, he observed and took pictures of all the organisms he found in his one cubic foot cube. For each location, there is also a video showing how he proceeded.

If so many forms of life can fit into one cubic foot, it means that in order to fully appreciate the diversity of life one must also look closely for the smaller organisms.