Phytoplankton Pigments: Characterization, Chemotaxonomy and Applications in Oceanography

Suzanne Roy · Carole A. Llewellyn · Einar Skarstad Egeland · Geir Johnsen

Oct 2011 · Cambridge University Press

About this ebook

Pigments act as tracers to elucidate the fate of phytoplankton in the world's oceans and are often associated with important biogeochemical cycles related to carbon dynamics in the oceans. They are increasingly used in in situ and remote-sensing applications, detecting algal biomass and major taxa through changes in water colour. This book is a follow-up to the 1997 volume Phytoplankton Pigments in Oceanography (UNESCO Press). Since then, there have been many advances concerning phytoplankton pigments. This book includes recent discoveries on several new algal classes particularly for the picoplankton, and on new pigments. It also includes many advances in methodologies, including liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and developments and updates on the mathematical methods used to exploit pigment information and extract the composition of phytoplankton communities. The book is invaluable primarily as a reference for students, researchers and professionals in aquatic science, biogeochemistry and remote sensing.

About the author

Suzanne Roy is a Professor of Biological Oceanography at the Institut des Sciences de la Mer of the Université du Québec à Rimouski (Canada) and a member of Québec-Ocean. Over the last 20 years, Professor Roy has developed an expertise in the ecology and physiology of marine and estuarine phytoplankton, focusing on various aspects such as population dynamics of harmful algae, environmental impacts of aquaculture and ozone-related ultraviolet radiation effects. She also runs an analytical laboratory for the HPLC determination of algal pigments and UV-screening compounds. Her current research interests include the combined influence of climate warming and enhanced UV on phytoplankton communities, photoprotection and cell mortality in Arctic phytoplankton, and the transport of non-indigenous dinoflagellates in ships' ballast tanks. Several of these projects are part of Canada's major NSERC Research Networks such as CAISN and CFL. Professor Roy is a member of the Scientific Committee for the international Global Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (GEOHAB) programme.

Geir Johnsen is a Professor of Marine Biology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), and an Adjunct Professor in marine bio-optics at the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS). His major interests are the use of bio-optical methods in taxonomy, ecology and physiology of micro- and macroalgae. His main focus in the last 20 years has been on photosynthesis, light harvesting and utilization in algae and marine invertebrates with photosynthetic endosymbionts. Current interests include new approaches in in situ and remote sensing techniques for monitoring and mapping of planktonic and benthic organisms in the water surface, water column and sea floor.