| Title | Microplankton monitoring along the west coast of South Africa |
|---|---|
| Project | Integrated Ecosystem Programme: Southern Benguela (IEP: SB) |
| Authors |
Maduray, Seshnee Worship, Marco |
| Publisher | Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (2025) |
| Contributors |
Contact Person: Maduray, Seshnee |
| Abstract | Microplankton, comprising of both phyto- and zooplankton in the 20-200μm size range, are a diverse and ecologically important group. They form the foundation of the food web, are instrumental in carbon and nutrient cycling, generate at least 50% of global oxygen and facilitate energy flow to higher trophic levels. Although they are found in all oceans globally, their diversity and abundance is varied. Due to their high sensitivity and rapid response to changes in the environment, their biomass and diversity are considered Essential Ocean Variables (EOV's) for routine and sustained long term observations to assess global ocean changes. This dataset forms part of the routine monitoring along the west coast of South Africa - Integrated Ecosystem Programme: Southern Benguela which occurs biannually in February and August. This resource contains raw image data for February 2018 obtained from water samples processed using a FlowCam VS3. The dataset comprises all images obtained of both phyto and zooplankton as well as marine snow, debris and other particles occurring in the water column at the time of sampling. |
| Methods | This resource contains the images of microplankton (phyto- and zooplankton in the 20-200μm size range) during the 2018 February Integrated Ecosystem Programme: Southern Benguela (IEP:SB) cruise aboard the RV Algoa (Voyage 246). Water samples were collected from Niskin bottles, preserved with formalin and frozen at -20°C for further analysis using a FlowCam© VS3. Once defrosted, samples were separated into 2 size classes: 20-100μm for imaging on the 10x objective using a FV100μm flowcell and 100-200μm for imaging on the 4x objective using a FV300μm flowcell following guidelines for best imaging (FlowCam manual). Autoimage mode was used which enabled the capture of all particles in the sample including plankton, debris, marine snow and any other objects which fit the parameters for capture. Manual focusing was used to enable clear images. The dataset contains all the raw unprocessed image files. |
| Data | |
| Temporal extent | 15 Feb 2018 – 22 Feb 2018 |
| Geographic extent |
300 km Leaflet Tiles © Esri — Source: Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, USGS, Intermap, iPC, NRCAN, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), Esri (Thailand), TomTom, 2012 South-East Atlantic Ocean
North: -29.0 |
| Vertical extent |
Max: -60 m Min: 0 m |
| Keywords | biomass, EBV: Community Composition > Community abundance, EOV: Biology and Ecosystems > Phytoplankton biomass and diversity, EOV: Biology and Ecosystems > Zooplankton biomass and diversity, FlowCam, Image data, microplankton, SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN, Southern Benguela |
| Related resources |
|