References

ESSD

Earth System Science Data

ESSD

Earth Syst. Sci. Data

1866-3516

Copernicus Publications

Göttingen, Germany

10.5194/essd-4-107-2012

Global marine plankton functional type biomass distributions: Phaeocystis spp.

Vogt

¹ O'Brien

¹ Peloquin

¹ Schoemann

² Breton

³ Estrada

⁴ Gibson

⁵ Karentz

⁶ Van Leeuwe

M. A.

⁷ Stefels

⁷ Widdicombe

⁸ Peperzak

Institute for Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, Universitätsstrasse 16, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland

Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg (Texel), The Netherlands

Université Lille Nord de France, ULCO, CNRS, LOG UMR8187, 32 Avenue Foch, 62930 Wimereux, France

Institut de Ciències del MAR (CSIC), Passeig Maritim de la Barceloneta, 3749, 08003 Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain

Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 50, Hobart Tasmania 7001, Australia

University of San Francisco, College of Arts and Sciences, 2130 Fulton Street, San Francisco, CA 94117, USA

University of Groningen, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, Department of Plant Ecophysiology, P.O. Box 14, 9750AA Haren, The Netherlands

Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, The Hoe, Plymouth PL1 3DH, UK

12 09 2012

4 1 107 120

2012

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The planktonic haptophyte Phaeocystis has been suggested to play a fundamental role in the global biogeochemical cycling of carbon and sulphur, but little is known about its global biomass distribution. We have collected global microscopy data of the genus Phaeocystis and converted abundance data to carbon biomass using species-specific carbon conversion factors. Microscopic counts of single-celled and colonial Phaeocystis were obtained both through the mining of online databases and by accepting direct submissions (both published and unpublished) from Phaeocystis specialists. We recorded abundance data from a total of 1595 depth-resolved stations sampled between 1955–2009. The quality-controlled dataset includes 5057 counts of individual Phaeocystis cells resolved to species level and information regarding life-stages from 3526 samples. 83% of stations were located in the Northern Hemisphere while 17% were located in the Southern Hemisphere. Most data were located in the latitude range of 50–70° N. While the seasonal distribution of Northern Hemisphere data was well-balanced, Southern Hemisphere data was biased towards summer months. Mean species- and form-specific cell diameters were determined from previously published studies. Cell diameters were used to calculate the cellular biovolume of Phaeocystis cells, assuming spherical geometry. Cell biomass was calculated using a carbon conversion factor for prymnesiophytes. For colonies, the number of cells per colony was derived from the colony volume. Cell numbers were then converted to carbon concentrations. An estimation of colonial mucus carbon was included a posteriori, assuming a mean colony size for each species. Carbon content per cell ranged from 9 pg C cell−1 (single-celled Phaeocystis antarctica) to 29 pg C cell−1 (colonial Phaeocystis globosa). Non-zero Phaeocystis cell biomasses (without mucus carbon) range from 2.9 × 10−5 to 5.4 × 103 μg C l−1, with a mean of 45.7 μg C l−1 and a median of 3.0 μg C l−1. The highest biomasses occur in the Southern Ocean below 70° S (up to 783.9 μg C l−1) and in the North Atlantic around 50° N (up to 5.4 × 103 μg C l−1). The original and gridded data can be downloaded from PANGAEA, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.779101"target="_blank">doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.779101</a>.

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