Sampling bias misrepresents the biogeographical significance of constitutive mixotrophs across global oceans

Suzanne Leles; Aditee Mitra; Kevin John Flynn; Urban Tillmann; Diane Stoecker; Hae Jin Jeong; JoAnn  Burkholder; Per Juel Hansen; David A. Caron; Patricia M  Glibert; Gustaff Hallegraeff; John A Raven; Robert W Sanders; Mikhail Zubkov

doi:10.1111/geb.12853

Sampling bias misrepresents the biogeographical significance of constitutive mixotrophs across global oceans

Suzanne Leles, Aditee Mitra, Kevin John Flynn, Urban Tillmann, Diane Stoecker, Hae Jin Jeong, JoAnn Burkholder, Per Juel Hansen, David A. Caron, Patricia M Glibert, Gustaff Hallegraeff, John A Raven, Robert W Sanders, Mikhail Zubkov

Marine Biology

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Aim: Most protist plankton are mixotrophic, with potential to engage in photoautotrophy and phagotrophy; however, the ecology of these organisms has been misdiagnosed for over a century. A large proportion of these organisms are constitutive mixotrophs (CMs), with an innate ability to photosynthesize. Here, for the first time, an analysis is presented of the biogeography of CMs across the oceans. Location: Global marine ecosystems. Time period: 1970–2018. Major taxa studied: Marine planktonic protists. Methods: Records for CM species, primarily from the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS), were grouped by taxonomy and size to evaluate sampling efforts across Longhurst's oceanic provinces. Biases were evaluated through nonparametric tests and multivariate analysis. Biogeographies of CMs from OBIS data were compared with data from studies that specifically targeted these organisms. Results: Constitutive mixotrophs of different taxonomic groups, across all size ranges, are ubiquitous. However, strong database biases were detected with respect to organism size, taxonomic groups and region. A strong bias was seen towards dinophytes. Species < 20 µm, especially non-dinophytes, were least represented, with their recorded distribution limited to coastal regions and to temperate and polar seas. Studies specifically targeting these organisms revealed their distribution to be much wider. Such biases are likely to have occurred owing to a failure to capture and correctly identify these organisms in routine sampling protocols. Main conclusions: Constitutive mixotrophs are dominant members of organisms traditionally termed “phytoplankton”. However, lack of routine protocols for measuring phagotrophy in “phytoplankton” protists has led to widespread misrepresentation of the fundamental nature of marine planktonic primary producers; most express both “animal-like” and “plant-like” nutrition. Our results have implications for studies of the global biogeography of plankton, of food web dynamics (including models) and of biogeochemical cycling in the oceans.

Original language	English
Journal	Global Ecology and Biogeography
Volume	28
Issue number	4
Pages (from-to)	418–428
Number of pages	11
ISSN	1466-822X
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12853
Publication status	Published - Apr 2019

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1111/geb.12853

Cite this

Leles, S., Mitra, A., Flynn, K. J., Tillmann, U., Stoecker, D., Jeong, H. J., Burkholder, J., Hansen, P. J., Caron, D. A., Glibert, P. M., Hallegraeff, G., Raven, J. A., Sanders, R. W., & Zubkov, M. (2019). Sampling bias misrepresents the biogeographical significance of constitutive mixotrophs across global oceans. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 28(4), 418–428. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12853

Leles, S, Mitra, A, Flynn, KJ, Tillmann, U, Stoecker, D, Jeong, HJ, Burkholder, J, Hansen, PJ, Caron, DA, Glibert, PM, Hallegraeff, G, Raven, JA, Sanders, RW & Zubkov, M 2019, 'Sampling bias misrepresents the biogeographical significance of constitutive mixotrophs across global oceans', Global Ecology and Biogeography, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 418–428. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12853

@article{133e9552c6ba471f9f948061d293603b,

title = "Sampling bias misrepresents the biogeographical significance of constitutive mixotrophs across global oceans",

abstract = "Aim: Most protist plankton are mixotrophic, with potential to engage in photoautotrophy and phagotrophy; however, the ecology of these organisms has been misdiagnosed for over a century. A large proportion of these organisms are constitutive mixotrophs (CMs), with an innate ability to photosynthesize. Here, for the first time, an analysis is presented of the biogeography of CMs across the oceans. Location: Global marine ecosystems. Time period: 1970–2018. Major taxa studied: Marine planktonic protists. Methods: Records for CM species, primarily from the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS), were grouped by taxonomy and size to evaluate sampling efforts across Longhurst's oceanic provinces. Biases were evaluated through nonparametric tests and multivariate analysis. Biogeographies of CMs from OBIS data were compared with data from studies that specifically targeted these organisms. Results: Constitutive mixotrophs of different taxonomic groups, across all size ranges, are ubiquitous. However, strong database biases were detected with respect to organism size, taxonomic groups and region. A strong bias was seen towards dinophytes. Species < 20 µm, especially non-dinophytes, were least represented, with their recorded distribution limited to coastal regions and to temperate and polar seas. Studies specifically targeting these organisms revealed their distribution to be much wider. Such biases are likely to have occurred owing to a failure to capture and correctly identify these organisms in routine sampling protocols. Main conclusions: Constitutive mixotrophs are dominant members of organisms traditionally termed “phytoplankton”. However, lack of routine protocols for measuring phagotrophy in “phytoplankton” protists has led to widespread misrepresentation of the fundamental nature of marine planktonic primary producers; most express both “animal-like” and “plant-like” nutrition. Our results have implications for studies of the global biogeography of plankton, of food web dynamics (including models) and of biogeochemical cycling in the oceans.",

author = "Suzanne Leles and Aditee Mitra and Flynn, {Kevin John} and Urban Tillmann and Diane Stoecker and Jeong, {Hae Jin} and JoAnn Burkholder and Hansen, {Per Juel} and Caron, {David A.} and Glibert, {Patricia M} and Gustaff Hallegraeff and Raven, {John A} and Sanders, {Robert W} and Mikhail Zubkov",

year = "2019",

month = apr,

doi = "10.1111/geb.12853",

language = "English",

volume = "28",

pages = "418–428",

journal = "Global Ecology and Biogeography",

issn = "1466-822X",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",

number = "4",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Sampling bias misrepresents the biogeographical significance of constitutive mixotrophs across global oceans

AU - Leles, Suzanne

AU - Mitra, Aditee

AU - Flynn, Kevin John

AU - Tillmann, Urban

AU - Stoecker, Diane

AU - Jeong, Hae Jin

AU - Burkholder, JoAnn

AU - Hansen, Per Juel

AU - Caron, David A.

AU - Glibert, Patricia M

AU - Hallegraeff, Gustaff

AU - Raven, John A

AU - Sanders, Robert W

AU - Zubkov, Mikhail

PY - 2019/4

Y1 - 2019/4

N2 - Aim: Most protist plankton are mixotrophic, with potential to engage in photoautotrophy and phagotrophy; however, the ecology of these organisms has been misdiagnosed for over a century. A large proportion of these organisms are constitutive mixotrophs (CMs), with an innate ability to photosynthesize. Here, for the first time, an analysis is presented of the biogeography of CMs across the oceans. Location: Global marine ecosystems. Time period: 1970–2018. Major taxa studied: Marine planktonic protists. Methods: Records for CM species, primarily from the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS), were grouped by taxonomy and size to evaluate sampling efforts across Longhurst's oceanic provinces. Biases were evaluated through nonparametric tests and multivariate analysis. Biogeographies of CMs from OBIS data were compared with data from studies that specifically targeted these organisms. Results: Constitutive mixotrophs of different taxonomic groups, across all size ranges, are ubiquitous. However, strong database biases were detected with respect to organism size, taxonomic groups and region. A strong bias was seen towards dinophytes. Species < 20 µm, especially non-dinophytes, were least represented, with their recorded distribution limited to coastal regions and to temperate and polar seas. Studies specifically targeting these organisms revealed their distribution to be much wider. Such biases are likely to have occurred owing to a failure to capture and correctly identify these organisms in routine sampling protocols. Main conclusions: Constitutive mixotrophs are dominant members of organisms traditionally termed “phytoplankton”. However, lack of routine protocols for measuring phagotrophy in “phytoplankton” protists has led to widespread misrepresentation of the fundamental nature of marine planktonic primary producers; most express both “animal-like” and “plant-like” nutrition. Our results have implications for studies of the global biogeography of plankton, of food web dynamics (including models) and of biogeochemical cycling in the oceans.

AB - Aim: Most protist plankton are mixotrophic, with potential to engage in photoautotrophy and phagotrophy; however, the ecology of these organisms has been misdiagnosed for over a century. A large proportion of these organisms are constitutive mixotrophs (CMs), with an innate ability to photosynthesize. Here, for the first time, an analysis is presented of the biogeography of CMs across the oceans. Location: Global marine ecosystems. Time period: 1970–2018. Major taxa studied: Marine planktonic protists. Methods: Records for CM species, primarily from the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS), were grouped by taxonomy and size to evaluate sampling efforts across Longhurst's oceanic provinces. Biases were evaluated through nonparametric tests and multivariate analysis. Biogeographies of CMs from OBIS data were compared with data from studies that specifically targeted these organisms. Results: Constitutive mixotrophs of different taxonomic groups, across all size ranges, are ubiquitous. However, strong database biases were detected with respect to organism size, taxonomic groups and region. A strong bias was seen towards dinophytes. Species < 20 µm, especially non-dinophytes, were least represented, with their recorded distribution limited to coastal regions and to temperate and polar seas. Studies specifically targeting these organisms revealed their distribution to be much wider. Such biases are likely to have occurred owing to a failure to capture and correctly identify these organisms in routine sampling protocols. Main conclusions: Constitutive mixotrophs are dominant members of organisms traditionally termed “phytoplankton”. However, lack of routine protocols for measuring phagotrophy in “phytoplankton” protists has led to widespread misrepresentation of the fundamental nature of marine planktonic primary producers; most express both “animal-like” and “plant-like” nutrition. Our results have implications for studies of the global biogeography of plankton, of food web dynamics (including models) and of biogeochemical cycling in the oceans.

U2 - 10.1111/geb.12853

DO - 10.1111/geb.12853

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1466-822X

VL - 28

SP - 418

EP - 428

JO - Global Ecology and Biogeography

JF - Global Ecology and Biogeography

IS - 4

ER -

Sampling bias misrepresents the biogeographical significance of constitutive mixotrophs across global oceans

Abstract

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this