Culturing and microscopy techniques for the analysis of phytoplankton diversity_2023.

Abstract

Phytoplankton comprises a range of very different organism from tiny and almost featureless picoplankton taxa to large diatoms and dinoflagellates nearing 1 mm in diameter. They essentially form the base of the food web and therefore a detailed knowledge of this diverse group of organisms is vital for developing an understanding of marine communities and their interactions with their environment and with each other. Unfortunately, the diversity of methods available for the quantitative and qualitative analysis is almost as diverse as the phytoplankton itself. This course will take you through the most important methodologies for quantitative and qualitative (non-molecular) biodiversity assessments of phytoplankton.