Biodiversity Reports

Plankton, a diverse collection of microscopic organisms drifting in oceans and freshwater, forms the foundation of aquatic food webs. This group includes ca. 5k (to 20k) known species of phytoplankton and 7k of zooplankton (Falkowski et al., 1998). Despite their size, plankton represents a colossal biomass—estimated at around 2 gigatons of carbon (Bar-On et al., 2018). To put this in perspective, it’s +30 time the biomass of humans (about 0.06 gigatons).

Phytoplankton plays a 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, producing over 50% of the Earth’s oxygen through photosynthesis and capturing significant amounts of carbon dioxide (Field et al., 1998). As the 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘄𝗲𝗯, plankton is vital to global fisheries, contributing to an industry valued at $401 billion in 2022 (FAO, 2022).

Plankton is 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲, 𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Rising sea temperatures and altered nutrient availability disrupt phytoplankton growth (Gattuso et al., 2015), while ocean acidification, driven by higher CO₂ levels, weakens the shells of calcifying zooplankton like foraminifera and pteropods (Kwiatkowski et al., 2020). Microplastic pollution further impairs feeding and reproductive success, reducing plankton populations (Lusher et al., 2015).

The decline of plankton can trigger cascading effects, jeopardizing the entire marine food chain, including commercial fish stocks, and diminishing the ocean’s capacity to sequester carbon—aggravating climate change (Gattuso et al., 2015).

Mitigation strategies include 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗢𝟮 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 through waste management reforms, and 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀 to safeguard plankton-rich zones. Enhancing 𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 can also prevent harmful algal blooms that disrupt plankton communities.

Protecting plankton is essential for maintaining ocean health, climate stability, and global food security. 🐠🌍