Fourteen participants from around the world converged at the Laboratory this week for an ICES Working Group on Phytoplankton and Microbial Ecology workshop. Dr. Nicole Poulton led the group, which provides review and advice on phytoplankton sampling methods and diversity issues.

The Working Group on Phytoplankton and Microbial Ecology (WGPME) is one of the many working groups of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. WGPME is an comprised of scientific experts on phytoplankton and microbial taxonomy, ecology, and chemistry. In addition to providing expert review and advice on taxonomic and molecular sampling methods and issues, WGPME collectively monitors phytoplankton and microbial plankton sampling activities in the North Atlantic region, including comparative analyses of time series (from national monitoring programs) in relation to climate variability, eutrophication, and ocean acidification.

The list of attendees follows:

Alexandra Kraberg (co-chair), Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research

Marie Johansen (co-chair), Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute

Glen Tarren, Plymouth Marine Laboratory

Rowena Stern, Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (via teleconference)

Eileen Bresnan, Marine Scotland

Norbert Wasmund, IOW

Todd O’Brien, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Nicole Poulton, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences

Katja Metfies, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (via teleconference)

Emmanuel Claude Devred, Bedford Institute of Oceanography

Hafsteinn Gudfinnsson, Marine Research Institute - Iceland

Nick Record, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences

Heidi Sosik, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

More information is available here.