Neuston

Neuston are organisms that live at or just below the surface film of a body of water, occupying the boundary between water and air.

Air–water interface: The boundary where a body of water meets the atmosphere. Neuston inhabit this boundary and the thin layers immediately above or below it.
Capillary waves: Small water waves whose restoring force is surface tension. They alter surface motion and can affect the movement of organisms in the neuston.
Sargassum fishery: Fisheries associated with floating Sargassum mats in the Atlantic Ocean. These mats shelter diverse surface-associated organisms, including neustonic animals.
Velella velella: A colonial hydrozoan that floats at the ocean surface beneath a small triangular sail. It is a conspicuous surface dweller often associated with neustonic communities.
Biological pump: The movement of carbon from surface waters into the deep ocean through biological processes. Neustonic production and consumption can contribute to carbon transfer through marine food webs.
Surface tension: The tendency of a liquid surface to resist external force because of molecular cohesion. It supports small organisms and shapes movement across the water surface.
Phototaxis: Directional movement by an organism in response to light. Light near the surface can guide neustonic organisms toward or away from illumination.
Marine debris: Human-made solid material discarded or lost into marine environments. Floating debris shares surface waters with neuston and can alter their habitat.
Janthina janthina: A violet sea snail that floats upside down on a raft of mucus bubbles. Its unusual raft lets it live and hunt at the ocean surface.
Ocean acidification: The decrease in ocean pH caused mainly by seawater absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide. Changing carbonate chemistry can affect calcifying organisms among surface communities.

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