Plankton Planet: A frugal, cooperative measure of aquatic life at the planetary scale

• DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2022.936972
• Publication Date: 2022-08-19T04:28:54Z
• Authors: Colomban de Vargas; Noan Le Bescot; Thibaut Pollina; Nicolas Henry; Sarah Romac; Sébastien Colin; Nils Haëntjens; Margaux Carmichael; Calixte Berger; David Le Guen; Johan Decelle; Frédéric Mahé; Julie Poulain; Emmanuel Malpot; Carole Beaumont; Michel Hardy; Damien Guiffant; Ian Probert; David F. Gruber; Andrew E. Allen; Gabriel Gorsky; Michael J. Follows; Xavier Pochon; Romain Troublé; B. B. Cael; Fabien Lombard; Emmanuel Boss; Manu Prakash
• Keywords: Marine ecosystem; Marine life

In every liter of seawater there are between 10 and 100 billion life forms, mostly invisible, called marine plankton or microbiome, which form the largest most dynamic ecosystem on our planet, at heart global ecological economic processes. While physical chemical parameters planktonic ecosystems fairly well measured modeled planetary scale, biological data still scarce due to extreme cost relative inflexibility classical vessels instruments used explore biodiversity. Here we introduce ‘Plankton Planet’, an initiative whose goal is engage curiosity creativity researchers, makers, mariners ( i ) co-develop a new generation cost-effective (frugal) universal scientific instrumentation measure genetic morphological diversity microbiomes in context, ii organize their systematic deployment through coastal open ocean communities sea-users/farers, generate uniform across long-term spatio-temporal scales, iii setup tools flow without embargo into public explorable databases. As proof-of-concept, show how 20 crews sailors were able sample biomass from world surface single year, generating first seatizen-based, dataset biodiversity based DNA barcodes. The quality this comparable that generated by Tara Oceans not biased multiplication samplers. unveil significant novelty can be taxonomic both regional scales. This pilot project paves way for construction miniaturized, modular, evolvable, affordable open-source citizen field-platform will allow assessment eco/morpho/genetic variation aquatic dimensions Earth system.