Details:

Journal Title:
Frontiers in Microbiology
Personal Author:
Clayton, Sophie ; Gibala-Smith, Leah ; Mogatas, Kathryn ; Flores-Vargas, Chanel ; Marciniak, Kayla ; ... More +
Clayton, Sophie ; Gibala-Smith, Leah ; Mogatas, Kathryn ; Flores-Vargas, Chanel ; Marciniak, Kayla ; Wigginton, Maci ; Mulholland, Margaret R. Less -
NOAA Program & Office:
NOS (National Ocean Service)
Description:
As primary producers, phytoplankton play an integral role in global biogeochemical cycles through their production of oxygen and fixation of carbon. They also provide significant ecosystem services, by supporting secondary production and fisheries. Phytoplankton biomass and diversity have been identified by the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) as Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs), properties that need to be monitored to better understand and predict the ocean system. Phytoplankton identification and enumeration relies on the skills and expertise of highly trained taxonomic analysts. The training of new taxonomic analysts is intensive and requires months to years of supervised training before an analyst is able to independently and consistently apply identification skills to a sample. During the COVID-19 pandemic, access to laboratories was greatly restricted and social distancing requirements prevented supervised training. However, access to phytoplankton imaging technologies such as the Imaging FlowCytobot (IFCB), FlowCam, and PlanktoScope, combined with open online taxonomic identification platforms such as EcoTaxa, provided a means to continue monitoring, research, and training activities remotely when in-person activities were restricted. Although such technologies can not entirely replace microscopy, they have a great potential for supporting an expansion in taxonomic training, monitoring, surveillance, and research capacity. In this paper we highlight a set of imaging and collaboration tools and describe how they were leveraged during laboratory lockdowns to advance research and monitoring goals. Anecdotally, we found that the use of imaging tools accelerated the training of new taxonomic analysts in our phytoplankton analysis laboratory. Based on these experiences, we outline how these technologies can be used to increase capacity in taxonomic training and expertise, as well as how they can be used more broadly to expand research opportunities and capacity.
Keywords:
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Microbiology Microbiology (medical)
Source:
Frontiers in Microbiology, 13
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.823109
ISSN:
1664-302X
Format:
PDF
Publisher:
Frontiers Media SA
Document Type:
Journal Article
Funding:
Grant no. NA18NOS4780176
License:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Rights Information:
CC BY
Compliance:
Library
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:ab082af7d039fa15ca9fcd49a6e33b1cd83ac4fd279a1395a122488dc368355a
Download URL:
https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/58052/noaa_58052_DS1.pdf
File Type:

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