The Impact Job Newsletter

Welcome to our first weekly newsletter! We mix social impact news and jobs in a fun way. Like a 7/11 slurpee. And, yes it's the big gulp size.

We hope you'll stick around and maybe even chuckle at our jokes about the state of the world. At least it's better than crying.

Read Time:

3 min 23 sec

Here's what we got on tap for you today:

• Meme of the Week
• The Real Superheroes of the Sea
• New Job Opportunities
• Win of the Week: Floating Cardboard Homes?
• Bummer of the Week: Big Oil Brings in Record Breaking Profits

Meme of the Week

Article of The Week

Idotea Balthica: The Real Superheroes of the Ocean

You know how they say that sand is the glitter of the beach? Well, it turns out that crustaceans are the bees of the sea. Tiny crustaceans called Idotea balthica, to be exact. Say that five times fast.

These little guys take algae’s version of pollen (or as we like to call it: algae sperm) and sprinkle it around like fairy dust on other algae fronds. They might be tiny, but they’re basically responsible for pollinating truck loads of algae down in the deep blue sea. For algae, getting crabs isn't so bad.

The most amazing part about what these little guys do is that it’s completely accidental on their end. Their sticky bodies naturally pick up the algae sperm and spread it around as they search for food and shelter.

Algae thank the Idotea balthica by offering them shelter under their fronds and microalgae that they can eat. It’s kind of an, “I’ll scratch your back while you scratch mine” situation, but more like, “I’ll spread your seed across the sea while you sustain my livelihood.”

All of this is cool because it helps scientists know more about how seaweed reproduces, which is important since they help preserve biodiversity, draw down carbon, and make efficient biofuel. Seaweed is kinda a superhero for the planet, and every superhero needs a sidekick. We just gotta come up with a better superhero name than Idotea balthica.

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