An international research team has recently discovered new phytoplankton groups that appear to favor warmer water. Scientists say their prevalence in warm waters suggest they could be important in future ocean ecosystems.
The Moore Foundation supported this field-based research, conducted in part by Marine Microbiology Initiative investigator Alexandra C. Worden, to further the understanding of phytoplankton genomics, physiology and population dynamics, and interactions with other marine microbes.
“The findings, published Jan. 9 in Current Biology, traced the phytoplankton genes to their potential ancient origins and matched them with sequences in around 200 contemporary samples. The new phytoplankton groups were increasingly abundant in warmer, low-nutrient surface waters at sites including the Sargasso Sea, Bay of Bengal and North Pacific Gyre.”
Read the full story in CIFAR by Juanita Bawagan: Newly discovered phytoplankton groups appear to favour warmer oceans.
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