MICROSCOPIC PLANTS MAY FORETELL A DECLINE IN MARINE BIODIVERSITY

Phytoplankton are microscopic plants that sit at the base of the marine food web and play a significant role in regulating Earth’s climate by helping to sequester carbon in the oceans. By studying phytoplankton, Elizabeth Harvey, associate professor of biological sciences, and her team aim to predict how global marine ecosystems will respond to climate change and potentially inform strategies to mitigate the effects of a changing climate on marine biodiversity.

“All the larger organisms that we enjoy eating or just observing rely on phytoplankton,” says Harvey. “We can think of them as a marine version of the canary in the coal mine — if we begin to observe significant changes in phytoplankton populations, these changes may directly alter the rest of the marine organisms present.”

Harvey is focused on phytoplankton in the Gulf of Maine, where she and her team take weekly and monthly samples at several coastal and offshore sites. The Gulf of Maine is one of the fastest-warming bodies of water in the world, and thus is a critical area for observing climate change impacts.

The research is supported by the New Hampshire Sea Grant, the National Science Foundation and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.