The oceans teem with photosynthesizing bacteria, tiny-tailed dinoflagellates gobbling other plankton, algae surrounded by intricate glass skeletons. In the 1960s, the ecologist G. Evelyn Hutchinson pointed out something confusing: Why do so many kinds of plankton exist? Mathematically, they shouldn’t all be able to survive when they must compete for the same set of nutrients.
Clarifying a plankton paradox reveals climate risks
