²έΑρΙηΗψ

Microscopic plankton in the global ocean are crucial to supporting marine life and produce oxygen for the planet but are undervalued and poorly understood because of a lack of studies, according to a new report co-authored by a ²έΑρΙηΗψ scientist.

Prof. Paul Tett is among the international experts who contributed to the Plankton Manifesto, which was unveiled during last week’s 79^th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The report emphasises the critical role of plankton in addressing the global crises of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. Plankton generate roughly half of the planet’s oxygen and absorb vast amounts of carbon.

Despite their immense importance, plankton are under threat and remain poorly understood. The Plankton Manifesto calls for immediate global recognition and action to protect these vital organisms.

Prof. Tett said the contribution of plankton to the global ecosystem was priceless, but if it were valued, it would be in the region of £101 billion per year in the UK alone.

He explained: “If you take the amount of oxygen produced in one year in the UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone and multiply that by the cost of making one kilogram of oxygen through an engineered method such as electrolysis – to obtain oxygen by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen – then it is worth more than £100 billion per year on that basis alone.

“The problem plankton has is it is invisible to most people and its contribution to the planet goes unnoticed.

“A change in plankton populations could have implications for oxygen availability and food production that will affect every living thing on Earth. I say ‘could’, because we are not making enough measurements of the rate at which plankton produce organic matter and release oxygen. We rely heavily on remote sensing (satellites) which gives a view on the surface layer of the ocean but doesn’t tell you what is going on beneath the sea surface.”

The Plankton Manifesto calls for more public education on ‘invisible plankton’ and calls for a greater effort to understand the changes going on with plankton on a global scale.

Prof. Tett’s particular interest is how plankton populations are changing in UK waters, as even small changes have the potential to heavily impact the productivity of the seas and therefore the availability of fish.

He added: “I hope this report encourages funders to continue helping us to monitor phytoplankton, especially around the UK. It is clear that there are changes here that are not necessarily good for fisheries.

“Sampling by the UK’s Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey has shown a decrease in zooplankton like krill and big copepods and those are things that herring and sand eel feed on. Meanwhile, there has been an increase in gelatinous plankton, which are not as good for fish, as they provide less energy. Observations by ²έΑρΙηΗψ near Oban and the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate near Stonehaven have shown long-term changes in phytoplankton.

“We urgently need to understand what is going on with plankton populations. If climate change is the cause of these changes, then there is not much we can do at a national level but if it something else like over-fishing or pollution, for example, then we can do something about that.”

You can read the Plankton Manifesto .