Conventional sampling methods severely underestimate phytoplankton species richness.
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Date
2014Author
Rodríguez-Ramos, Tamara
Dornelas, María
Marañón, Emilio
Cermeño, Pedro
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Conventional methods for the estimation of marine phytoplankton diversity include the collection of a small volume of seawater which is analysed under the microscope. We sampled natural communities and also synthetic communities generated under a neutral community model configuration and demonstrate that traditional sampling methods underestimate the species richness of marine phytoplankton communities. In our model, a synthetic community represents an ensemble of individuals enclosed
in a parcel of seawater wherein the dynamics of each population is controlled by demographic stochasticity and dispersal. By sampling these synthetic communities, we found that roughly 20 –45% of the species is missed by conventional, small volume samples. Consistent with the simulations, field data showed that the number of species increases with sampling effort by up to ~1.5-fold, revealing that these microbial communities might be more diverse than previously estimated. We suggest that conventional sa.....
Journal
Journal of Plankton ResearchVolume
36Page Range
pp.334-343Document Language
enEssential Ocean Variables (EOV)
Phytoplankton biomass and diversityMaturity Level
MatureDOI Original
https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbt115Citation
Rodríguez-Ramos, T., Dornelas, M., Marañón, E. and Cermeño, P. (2014) Conventional sampling methods severely underestimate phytoplankton species richness. Journal of Plankton Research, 36, pp.334-343. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbt115Collections