Abstract
Understanding the variability of marine biodiversity is a central issue in microbiology. Current observational programs are based on in situ studies, but their implementation at the global scale is particularly challenging, owing to the ocean extent, its temporal variability and the heterogeneity of the data sources on which compilations are built. Here, we explore the possibility of identifying phytoplanktonic biodiversity hotspots from satellite. We define a Shannon entropy index based on patchiness in ocean color bio-optical anomalies. This index provides a high resolution (1 degree) global coverage. It shows a relation to temperature and mid-latitude maxima in accordance with those previously evidenced in microbiological biodiversity model and observational studies. Regional maxima are in remarkable agreement with several known biodiversity hotspots for plankton organisms and even for higher levels of the marine trophic chain, as well as with some in situ planktonic biodiversity estimates (from Atlantic Meridional Transect cruise). These results encourage to explore marine biodiversity with a coordinated effort of the molecular, ecological and remote sensing communities.
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Acknowledgements
We thank NASA and the GLOBCOULOUR project for access to ocean color data and AMSR-E SST data. This study uses data from the Atlantic Meridional Transect consortium (NER/0/5/2001/000680) provided by the British Oceanographic Data Centre, and supported by the Natural Environment Research Council. SDM was supported by the ANR blanc program Phytback and by the EU 7FP MicroB3. AS is supported by the EMERGENCE EME111 UPMC project. This work is a contribution to the OSTST ALTIMECO project.
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De Monte, S., Soccodato, A., Alvain, S. et al. Can we detect oceanic biodiversity hotspots from space?. ISME J 7, 2054–2056 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2013.72
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2013.72
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