93
This is of great importance in an age of large-scale international programs, such as JGOFS,
that are born out of the necessity of growing international cooperation: the human influence
on the environment is no longer restricted to national boundaries,but has a globe-wide impact.
In order to assess the role of phytoplankton in global fluxes of carbon and associated elements
between atmosphere, ocean and earth, the activity of all its taxonomic components should be
estimated in all ocean regions. A compilation of regional studies to global coverage of data
on plankton dynamics is only of value when scientists around the world contribute to the
required body of knowledge by producing the best possible results of measurements, with
methods that are not less sound than the best ones available, yet are within the limits of their
countries' financial budget and technical capacity.
I advocate a globe-wide use of chromatographic methods for phytoplankton pigment analysis
to study all aspects of phytoplankton biomass and ecophysiology in ways outlined and
discussed in the various sections of this paper. HPLC should not be replaced by the newest
alternatives (namely flow cytometry) before HPLC's potential and promises have been fully
explored - which until now has only been attempted by a few. They repeatedly found that
results are of a quality that can hardly be surpassed by any other method. For all scientists
who do have access to the more expensive tools (flow cytometry and also remote sensing of
the ocean's phytoplankton with the new generation of satellites), use of conventional methods
of phytoplankton production and biomass analysis remains a condition sine qua non for the
interpretation of their results. I have presented evidence in this paper that one of these
methods, pigment analysis, cannot be omitted in the foreseeable future.
REFERENCES
Abaychi JK, Riley JP (1979) The determination of
phytoplankton pigments by
high-performance liquid chromatography. Anal Chim Acta 107: 1-11
Ackleson S (1989) White waters of the Gulf of Maine. Oceanography 1:18-22
Bazzaz MB (1981) New Chlorophyll a and b chromophores isolates from a mutant of Zea
mays L. Naturwissenschaften 68:94-95
Bazzaz MB, Brereton RG (1982) 4-Vinyl-4-desethyl Chlorophyll a: new naturally occurring
chlorophyll. FEBS Letters 138: 104-108
Berger W, Fischer K, Lai C, Wu G (1987) Ocean productivity and organic carbon flux. Part
I. Overview and maps of primary production and export production. Univ. California, San
Diego, CA, S10 Ref. 87-30, 69 pp
Bidigare RR, Schofield 0, Prezelin BB (1989a) Influence of zeaxanthin on quantum yield of
photosynthesis of Synchococcus clone WH 7803 (DC2). Mar Ecol Prog Ser 56: 177-188
Bidigare RR, Morrow JH, Kiefer DA (1989b) Derivative analysis of spectral absorption by
photosynthetic pigments in the Western Sargasso Sea. J Mar Res 47:323-341
Bricaud A, Stramski D (1990) Spectral absorption coefficients of living phytoplankton and
. non-algal biogenous matter: a comparison between the Peru upwelling area and the
Sargasso Sea. Limnol Oceanogr 35:562-582
This is of great importance in an age of large-scale international programs, such as JGOFS,
that are born out of the necessity of growing international cooperation: the human influence
on the environment is no longer restricted to national boundaries,but has a globe-wide impact.
In order to assess the role of phytoplankton in global fluxes of carbon and associated elements
between atmosphere, ocean and earth, the activity of all its taxonomic components should be
estimated in all ocean regions. A compilation of regional studies to global coverage of data
on plankton dynamics is only of value when scientists around the world contribute to the
required body of knowledge by producing the best possible results of measurements, with
methods that are not less sound than the best ones available, yet are within the limits of their
countries' financial budget and technical capacity.
I advocate a globe-wide use of chromatographic methods for phytoplankton pigment analysis
to study all aspects of phytoplankton biomass and ecophysiology in ways outlined and
discussed in the various sections of this paper. HPLC should not be replaced by the newest
alternatives (namely flow cytometry) before HPLC's potential and promises have been fully
explored - which until now has only been attempted by a few. They repeatedly found that
results are of a quality that can hardly be surpassed by any other method. For all scientists
who do have access to the more expensive tools (flow cytometry and also remote sensing of
the ocean's phytoplankton with the new generation of satellites), use of conventional methods
of phytoplankton production and biomass analysis remains a condition sine qua non for the
interpretation of their results. I have presented evidence in this paper that one of these
methods, pigment analysis, cannot be omitted in the foreseeable future.
REFERENCES
Abaychi JK, Riley JP (1979) The determination of
phytoplankton pigments by
high-performance liquid chromatography. Anal Chim Acta 107: 1-11
Ackleson S (1989) White waters of the Gulf of Maine. Oceanography 1:18-22
Bazzaz MB (1981) New Chlorophyll a and b chromophores isolates from a mutant of Zea
mays L. Naturwissenschaften 68:94-95
Bazzaz MB, Brereton RG (1982) 4-Vinyl-4-desethyl Chlorophyll a: new naturally occurring
chlorophyll. FEBS Letters 138: 104-108
Berger W, Fischer K, Lai C, Wu G (1987) Ocean productivity and organic carbon flux. Part
I. Overview and maps of primary production and export production. Univ. California, San
Diego, CA, S10 Ref. 87-30, 69 pp
Bidigare RR, Schofield 0, Prezelin BB (1989a) Influence of zeaxanthin on quantum yield of
photosynthesis of Synchococcus clone WH 7803 (DC2). Mar Ecol Prog Ser 56: 177-188
Bidigare RR, Morrow JH, Kiefer DA (1989b) Derivative analysis of spectral absorption by
photosynthetic pigments in the Western Sargasso Sea. J Mar Res 47:323-341
Bricaud A, Stramski D (1990) Spectral absorption coefficients of living phytoplankton and
. non-algal biogenous matter: a comparison between the Peru upwelling area and the
Sargasso Sea. Limnol Oceanogr 35:562-582