Crockford E. Taylor

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Last Name
Crockford
First Name
E. Taylor
ORCID
0000-0002-2122-0462

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Now showing 1 - 15 of 15
  • Article
    A regional, early spring bloom of Phaeocystis pouchetii on the New England continental shelf
    (American Geophysical Union, 2021-01-15) Smith, Walker O. ; Zhang, Weifeng G. ; Hirzel, Andrew ; Stanley, Rachel M. ; Meyer, Meredith G. ; Sosik, Heidi M. ; Alatalo, Philip ; Oliver, Hilde ; Sandwith, Zoe O. ; Crockford, E. Taylor ; Peacock, Emily E. ; Mehta, Arshia ; McGillicuddy, Dennis J.
    The genus Phaeocystis is distributed globally and has considerable ecological, biogeochemical, and societal impacts. Understanding its distribution, growth and ecological impacts has been limited by lack of extensive observations on appropriate scales. In 2018, we investigated the biological dynamics of the New England continental shelf and encountered a substantial bloom of Phaeocystis pouchetii. Based on satellite imagery during January through April, the bloom extended over broad expanses of the shelf; furthermore, our observations demonstrated that it reached high biomass levels, with maximum chlorophyll concentrations exceeding 16 µg L−1 and particulate organic carbon levels > 95 µmol L−1. Initially, the bloom was largely confined to waters with temperatures <6°C, which in turn were mostly restricted to shallow areas near the coast. As the bloom progressed, it appeared to sink into the bottom boundary layer; however, enough light and nutrients were available for growth. The bloom was highly productive (net community production integrated through the mixed layer from stations within the bloom averaged 1.16 g C m−2 d−1) and reduced nutrient concentrations considerably. Long‐term coastal observations suggest that Phaeocystis blooms occur sporadically in spring on Nantucket Shoals and presumably expand onto the continental shelf. Based on the distribution of Phaeocystis during our study, we suggest that it can have a significant impact on the overall productivity and ecology of the New England shelf during the winter/spring transition.
  • Article
    Particle size distribution at Ocean Station Papa from nanometers to millimeters constrained with intercomparison of seven methods
    (University of California Press, 2023-03-31) Zhang, Xiaodong ; Huot, Yannick ; Gray, Deric ; Sosik, Heidi M. ; Siegel, David ; Hu, Lianbo ; Xiong, Yuanheng ; Crockford, E. Taylor ; Potvin, Geneviève ; McDonnell, Andrew ; Roesler, Collin
    Particle size distribution (PSD) is a fundamental property that affects almost every aspect of the marine ecosystem, including ecological trophic interactions and transport of organic matter and trace elements. We measured PSDs using a suite of seven instruments in waters near Ocean Station Papa in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. These instruments and their sizing ranges are: Laser In-Situ Scattering and Transmissometer (LISST)-Volume Scattering Function meter (VSF) and Multispectral Volume Scattering Meter (MVSM), both sizing particles from 0.02 µm to 2000 µm; the LISST-100X, from 3 µm to 180 µm; the ViewSizer, from 0.3 µm to 2 µm; the Coulter Counter, from 2 µm to 40 µm; the Imaging Flow CytoBot (IFCB), from 5 µm to 100 μm; and the underwater vision profiler (UVP), from 100 µm to 2000 µm. Together, they cover an unprecedented size range spanning 5 orders of magnitude from 20 nm to 2 mm. The differences in size definition for the different instruments cause biases in comparing PSDs. The absolute differences in PSDs, after correcting for mean biases, were less than a factor of 3 among all the instruments, and within 50% among LISST-100X, LISST+MVSM, Coulter Counter and IFCB. We also found that particles of sizes <50 µm were not very porous; however, porosity must be considered for particles >50 µm. The merged PSDs, ranging from 0.02 µm to 2000 µm, showed little variation in the PSD slope in the upper 75 m of the water column even though the total number of particles decreased with depth. While submicrometer particles are numerically dominant, particles of sizes 1 µm to 100 µm account for 70–90% of the solid volume of particles. We expect that the results of this study will lead to improved estimates of mass and carbon flux in the study area.
  • Article
    Temperature regulates Synechococcus population dynamics seasonally and across the continental shelf
    (Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, 2023-05-12) Stevens, Bethany L. F. ; Crockford, E. Taylor ; Peacock, Emily E. ; Neubert, Michael G. ; Sosik, Heidi M.
    Hourly, year‐round flow cytometry has made it possible to relate seasonal environmental variability to the population dynamics of the smallest, most abundant phytoplankton on the Northeast US Shelf. To evaluate whether the insights from these data extend to Synechococcus farther from shore, we analyze flow cytometry measurements made continuously from the underway systems on 21 cruises traveling between the Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO) and the continental shelf break. We describe how seasonal patterns in Synechococcus , which have been documented in detail at MVCO, occur across the region with subtle variation. We find that the underlying relationship between temperature and division rate is consistent across the shelf and can explain much of the observed spatial variability in concentration. Connecting individual cell properties to annual and regional patterns in environmental conditions, these results demonstrate the value of autonomous monitoring and create an improved picture of picophytoplankton dynamics within an economically important ecosystem.
  • Article
    Temperature dependence of parasitoid infection and abundance of a diatom revealed by automated imaging and classification
    (National Academy of Sciences, 2023-07-03) Catlett, Dylan ; Peacock, Emily E. ; Crockford, E. Taylor ; Futrelle, Joe ; Batchelder, Sidney ; Stevens, Bethany L. F. ; Gast, Rebecca J. ; Zhang, Weifeng Gordon ; Sosik, Heidi M.
    Diatoms are a group of phytoplankton that contribute disproportionately to global primary production. Traditional paradigms that suggest diatoms are consumed primarily by larger zooplankton are challenged by sporadic parasitic “epidemics” within diatom populations. However, our understanding of diatom parasitism is limited by difficulties in quantifying these interactions. Here, we observe the dynamics of Cryothecomonas aestivalis (a protist) infection of an important diatom on the Northeast U.S. Shelf (NES), Guinardia delicatula, with a combination of automated imaging-in-flow cytometry and a convolutional neural network image classifier. Application of the classifier to >1 billion images from a nearshore time series and >20 survey cruises across the broader NES reveals the spatiotemporal gradients and temperature dependence of G. delicatula abundance and infection dynamics. Suppression of parasitoid infection at temperatures <4 °C drives annual cycles in both G. delicatula infection and abundance, with an annual maximum in infection observed in the fall-winter preceding an annual maximum in host abundance in the winter-spring. This annual cycle likely varies spatially across the NES in response to variable annual cycles in water temperature. We show that infection remains suppressed for ~2 mo following cold periods, possibly due to temperature-induced local extinctions of the C. aestivalis strain(s) that infect G. delicatula. These findings have implications for predicting impacts of a warming NES surface ocean on G. delicatula abundance and infection dynamics and demonstrate the potential of automated plankton imaging and classification to quantify phytoplankton parasitism in nature across unprecedented spatiotemporal scales.
  • Article
    Reconciliation of total particulate organic carbon and nitrogen measurements determined using contrasting methods in the North Pacific Ocean as part of the NASA EXPORTS field campaign
    (University of California Press, 2023-12-01) Graff, Jason R. ; Nelson, Norman B. ; Roca-Marti, Montserrat ; Romanelli, Elisa ; Kramer, Sasha J. ; Erickson, Zach ; Cetinic, Ivona ; Buesseler, Kenneth O. ; Passow, Uta ; Zhang, Xiaodong ; Benitez-Nelson, Claudia ; Bisson, Kelsey ; Close, Hilary G. ; Crockford, E. Taylor ; Fox, James ; Halewood, Stuart ; Lam, Phoebe ; Roesler, Collin S. ; Sweet, Julia ; VerWey, Brian ; Xiong, Yuanheng ; Siegel, David A.
    Measurements of particulate organic carbon (POC) are critical for understanding the ocean carbon cycle, including biogenic particle formation and removal processes, and for constraining models of carbon cycling at local, regional, and global scales. Despite the importance and ubiquity of POC measurements, discrepancies in methods across platforms and users, necessary to accommodate a multitude of needs and logistical constraints, commonly result in disparate results. Considerations of filter type and pore size, sample volume, collection method, and contamination sources underscore the potential for dissimilar measurements of the same variable assessed using similar and different approaches. During the NASA EXport Processes in the Ocean from RemoTe Sensing (EXPORTS) 2018 field campaign in the North Pacific Ocean, multiple methodologies and sampling approaches for determining POC were applied, including surface inline flow-through systems and depth profiles using Niskin bottles, in situ pumps, and Marine Snow Catchers. A comparison of results from each approach and platform often resulted in significant differences. Supporting measurements, however, provided the means to normalize results across datasets. Using knowledge of contrasting protocols and synchronous or near-synchronous measurements of associated environmental variables, we were able to reconcile dataset differences to account for undersampling of some particle types and sizes, possible sample contamination and blank corrections. These efforts resulted in measurement agreement between initially contrasting datasets and insights on long-acknowledged but rarely resolved discrepancies among contrasting methods for assessing POC concentrations in the ocean.
  • Article
    Distinct responses to warming within picoplankton communities across an environmental gradient
    (Wiley, 2024-05-20) Stevens, Bethany L. F. ; Peacock, Emily E. ; Crockford, E. Taylor ; Shalapyonok, Alexi ; Neubert, Michael G. ; Sosik, Heidi M.
    Picophytoplankton are a ubiquitous component of marine plankton communities and are expected to be favored by global increases in seawater temperature and stratification associated with climate change. Eukaryotic and prokaryotic picophytoplankton have distinct ecology, and global models predict that the two groups will respond differently to future climate scenarios. At a nearshore observatory on the Northeast US Shelf, however, decades of year-round monitoring have shown these two groups to be highly synchronized in their responses to environmental variability. To reconcile the differences between regional and global predictions for picophytoplankton dynamics, we here investigate the picophytoplankton community across the continental shelf gradient from the nearshore observatory to the continental slope. We analyze flow cytometry data from 22 research cruises, comparing the response of picoeukaryote and Synechococcus communities to environmental variability across time and space. We find that the mechanisms controlling picophytoplankton abundance differ across taxa, season, and distance from shore. Like the prokaryote, Synechococcus, picoeukaryote division rates are limited nearshore by low temperatures in winter and spring, and higher temperatures offshore lead to an earlier spring bloom. Unlike Synechococcus, picoeukaryote concentration in summer decreases dramatically in offshore surface waters and exhibits deeper subsurface maxima. The offshore picoeukaryote community appears to be nutrient limited in the summer and subject to much greater loss rates than Synechococcus. This work both produces and demonstrates the necessity of taxon- and site-specific knowledge for accurately predicting the responses of picophytoplankton to ongoing environmental change.
  • Article
    Unusual Hemiaulus bloom influences ocean productivity in Northeastern US Shelf waters
    (European Geosciences Union, 2024-03-13) Cieza, S. Alejandra Castillo ; Stanley, Rachel H. R. ; Marrec, Pierre ; Fontaine, Diana N. ; Crockford, E. Taylor ; McGillicuddy Jr., Dennis J. ; Mehta, Arshia ; Menden-Deuer, Susanne ; Peacock, Emily E. ; Rynearson, Tatiana A. ; Sandwith, Zoe O. ; Zhang, Weifeng Gordon ; Sosik, Heidi M.
    Because of its temperate location, high dynamic range of environmental conditions, and extensive human activity, the long-term ecological research site in the coastal Northeastern US Shelf (NES) of the northwestern Atlantic Ocean offers an ideal opportunity to understand how productivity shifts in response to changes in planktonic community composition. Ocean production and trophic transfer rates, including net community production (NCP), net primary production (NPP), gross oxygen production (GOP), and microzooplankton grazing rates, are key metrics for understanding marine ecosystem dynamics and associated impacts on biogeochemical cycles. Although small phytoplankton usually dominate phytoplankton community composition and Chl a concentration in the NES waters during the summer, in August 2019, a bloom of the large diatom genus Hemiaulus, with N2-fixing symbionts, was observed in the mid-shelf region. NCP was 2.5 to 9 times higher when Hemiaulus dominated phytoplankton carbon compared to NCP throughout the same geographic area during the summers of 2020–2022. The Hemiaulus bloom in summer 2019 also coincided with higher trophic transfer efficiency from phytoplankton to microzooplankton and higher GOP and NPP than in the summers 2020–2022. This study suggests that the dominance of an atypical phytoplankton community that alters the typical size distribution of primary producers can significantly influence productivity and trophic transfer, highlighting the dynamic nature of the coastal ocean. Notably, summer 2018 NCP levels were also high, although the size distribution of Chl a was typical and an atypical phytoplankton community was not observed. A better understanding of the dynamics of the NES in terms of biological productivity is of primary importance, especially in the context of changing environmental conditions due to climate processes.
  • Article
    Toward a synthesis of phytoplankton communities composition methods for global-scale application
    (Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), 2024-02-23) Kramer, Sasha J. ; Bolanos, Luis M. ; Catlett, Dylan ; Chase, Alison P. ; Behrenfeld, Michael J. ; Boss, Emmanuel S. ; Crockford, E. Taylor ; Giovannoni, Stephen J. ; Graff, Jason R. ; Haentjens, Nils ; Karp-Boss, Lee ; Peacock, Emily E. ; Roesler, Collin S. ; Sosik, Heidi M. ; Siegel, David A.
    The composition of the marine phytoplankton community has been shown to impact many biogeochemical processes and marine ecosystem services. A variety of methods exist to characterize phytoplankton community composition (PCC), with varying degrees of taxonomic resolution. Accordingly, the resulting PCC determinations are dependent on the method used. Here, we use surface ocean samples collected in the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans to compare high-performance liquid chromatography pigment-based PCC to four other methods: quantitative cell imaging, flow cytometry, and 16S and 18S rRNA amplicon sequencing. These methods allow characterization of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic PCC across a wide range of size classes. PCC estimates of many taxa resolved at the class level (e.g., diatoms) show strong positive correlations across methods, while other groups (e.g., dinoflagellates) are not well captured by one or more methods. Since variations in phytoplankton pigment concentrations are related to changes in optical properties, this combined dataset expands the potential scope of ocean color remote sensing by associating PCC at the genus- and species-level with group- or class-level PCC from pigments. Quantifying the strengths and limitations of pigment-based PCC methods compared to PCC assessments from amplicon sequencing, imaging, and cytometry methods is the first step toward the robust validation of remote sensing approaches to quantify PCC from space.
  • Dataset
    Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory 2024
    (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2025-02-27) Cinquino, Eve ; Batchelder, Sidney ; Fredericks, Janet J. ; Sisson, John D. ; Faluotico, Stephen M. ; Popenoe, Hugh ; Sandwith, Zoe O. ; Crockford, E. Taylor ; Peacock, Emily E. ; Shalapyonok, Alexi ; Sosik, Heidi M. ; Kirincich, Anthony R. ; Edson, James B. ; Trowbridge, John H.
    Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO) is a leading research and engineering facility operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. MVCO has been collecting ocean and atmospheric data at 3 sites on and near Martha's Vineyard since 2001. A meteorological mast (met mast) on South Beach in Edgartown, MA collected atmospheric data from May 31, 2001 to Dec 18, 2023. An Air Sea Interaction Tower (ASIT) has been collecting atmospheric and subsurface oceanic data since August 5, 2004. A seafloor node (12m node) collected oceanic data from the seafloor from June 14, 2001 to September 5, 2018. This dataset encompasses the core data (wind speed and direction, air pressure, temperature and relative humidity, water temperature and salinity, and wave data) that has been collected during this period. To learn more about the facility and see additional data collected during short term deployments, visit the MVCO Website (https://mvco.whoi.edu/).
  • Dataset
    Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory 2022
    (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2023-01-31) Cinquino, Eve ; Batchelder, Sidney ; Fredericks, Janet J. ; Sisson, John D. ; Faluotico, Stephen M. ; Popenoe, Hugh ; Sandwith, Zoe O. ; Crockford, E. Taylor ; Peacock, Emily E. ; Shalapyonok, Alexi ; Sosik, Heidi M. ; Kirincich, Anthony R. ; Edson, James B. ; Trowbridge, John H.
    Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO) is a leading research and engineering facility operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. MVCO has been collecting ocean and atmospheric data at 3 sites on and near Martha's Vineyard since 2001. A meteorological mast (met mast) on South Beach in Edgartown, MA has collected atmospheric data since May 31 2001. An Air Sea Interaction Tower (ASIT) has been collecting atmospheric and subsurface oceanic data since August 5, 2004. A seafloor node (12m node) has been collecting oceanic data from the seafloor since June 14, 2001. This dataset encompasses the core data (wind speed and direction, air pressure, temperature and relative humidity, water temperature and salinity, and wave data) that has been collected during this period. To learn more about the facility and see additional data collected during short term deployments, visit the MVCO Website (https://mvco.whoi.edu/).
  • Dataset
    Martha’s Vineyard Coastal Observatory
    (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2021-10-15) Cinquino, Eve ; Batchelder, Sidney ; Fredericks, Janet J. ; Sisson, John D. ; Faluotico, Stephen M. ; Popenoe, Hugh ; Sandwith, Zoe O. ; Crockford, E. Taylor ; Peacock, Emily E. ; Shalapyonok, Alexi ; Sosik, Heidi M. ; Kirincich, Anthony R. ; Edson, James B. ; Trowbridge, John H.
    Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO) is a leading research and engineering facility operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. MVCO has been collecting ocean and atmospheric data at 3 sites on and near Martha's Vineyard since 2001. A meteorological mast (met mast) on South Beach in Edgartown, MA has collected atmospheric data since May 31 2001. An Air Sea Interaction Tower (ASIT) has been collecting atmospheric and subsurface oceanic data since August 5, 2004. A seafloor node (12m node) has been collecting oceanic data from the seafloor since June 14, 2001. This dataset encompasses the core data (wind speed and direction, air pressure, temperature and relative humidity, water temperature and salinity, and wave data) that has been collected during this period. To learn more about the facility and see additional data collected during short term deployments, visit the MVCO Website (https://mvco.whoi.edu/).
  • Dataset
    Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory 2023
    (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2024-10-28) Cinquino, Eve ; Batchelder, Sidney ; Fredericks, Janet J. ; Sisson, John D. ; Faluotico, Stephen M. ; Popenoe, Hugh ; Sandwith, Zoe O. ; Crockford, E. Taylor ; Peacock, Emily E. ; Shalapyonok, Alexi ; Sosik, Heidi M. ; Kirincich, Anthony R. ; Edson, James B. ; Trowbridge, John H.
    Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO) is a leading research and engineering facility operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. MVCO has been collecting ocean and atmospheric data at 3 sites on and near Martha's Vineyard since 2001. A meteorological mast (met mast) on South Beach in Edgartown, MA collected atmospheric data from May 31, 2001 to Dec 18, 2023. An Air Sea Interaction Tower (ASIT) has been collecting atmospheric and subsurface oceanic data since August 5, 2004. A seafloor node (12m node) collected oceanic data from the seafloor from June 14, 2001 to September 5, 2018. This dataset encompasses the core data (wind speed and direction, air pressure, temperature and relative humidity, water temperature and salinity, and wave data) that has been collected during this period. To learn more about the facility and see additional data collected during short term deployments, visit the MVCO Website (https://mvco.whoi.edu/).
  • Dataset
    Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory 2021
    (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2022-06-24) Cinquino, Eve ; Batchelder, Sidney ; Fredericks, Janet J. ; Sisson, John D. ; Faluotico, Stephen M. ; Popenoe, Hugh ; Sandwith, Zoe O. ; Crockford, E. Taylor ; Peacock, Emily E. ; Shalapyonok, Alexi ; Sosik, Heidi M. ; Kirincich, Anthony R. ; Edson, James B. ; Trowbridge, John H.
    Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO) is a leading research and engineering facility operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. MVCO has been collecting ocean and atmospheric data at 3 sites on and near Martha's Vineyard since 2001. A meteorological mast (met mast) on South Beach in Edgartown, MA has collected atmospheric data since May 31 2001. An Air Sea Interaction Tower (ASIT) has been collecting atmospheric and subsurface oceanic data since August 5, 2004. A seafloor node (12m node) has been collecting oceanic data from the seafloor since June 14, 2001. This dataset encompasses the core data (wind speed and direction, air pressure, temperature and relative humidity, water temperature and salinity, and wave data) that has been collected during this period. To learn more about the facility and see additional data collected during short term deployments, visit the MVCO Website (https://mvco.whoi.edu/).
  • Article
    Concurrent DNA meta‐barcoding and plankton imaging reveal novel parasitic infection and competition in a diatom
    (Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), 2024-07-13) Catlett, Dylan ; Peacock, Emily E. ; Fontaine, Diana N. ; Crockford, E. Taylor ; McKenzie, Mary J. ; Rynearson, Tatiana A. ; Sosik, Heidi M.
    Little is known about diatom parasitism in marine systems. Guinardia delicatula, a biomass-dominant diatom on the Northeast US Shelf (NES), is regularly parasitized by the protistan nanoflagellate, Cryothecomonas aestivalis in this region. While G. delicatula is known to host other protistan parasites, direct observation of these interactions and their dynamics in nature remain elusive. Here, we integrate concurrent DNA meta-barcoding and automated imaging-in-flow cytometry observations to characterize the dynamics of G. delicatula infection by a second parasite, Pirsonia (likely Pirsonia verrucosa). In contrast with C. aestivalis infections, Pirsonia infections are observed sporadically and typically only in a small fraction of the G. delicatula population on the NES. An exception was found in February 2020, when an anomalous co-infection event was observed in G. delicatula featuring > 20% infection prevalence by Pirsonia and > 10% infection prevalence by C. aestivalis. Investigation of each parasite's infection dynamics' relationship with temperature and salinity suggested that C. aestivalis may consistently dominate G. delicatula infection dynamics due to its wider thermal tolerance range and more cosmopolitan distribution. Pirsonia only appeared capable of dominating G. delicatula infection at temperatures near or below 4°C, a known temperature threshold below which C. aestivalis infection is suppressed. Our results demonstrate the utility of integrating DNA meta-barcoding and plankton imaging to observe the dynamics of diatom–parasite interactions in marine systems and shed light on the diversity of infection dynamics in diatom–parasite systems and the forcings governing competition among diatom parasites for a single host.
  • Article
    First release of the Pelagic Size Structure database: global datasets of marine size spectra obtained from plankton imaging devices
    (Copernicus Publications, 2024-06-26) Dugenne, Mathilde ; Corrales-Ugalde, Marco ; Luo, Jessica Y. ; Kiko, Rainer ; O'Brien, Todd D. ; Irisson, Jean-Olivier ; Lombard, Fabien ; Stemmann, Lars ; Stock, Charles ; Anderson, Clarissa R. ; Babin, Marcel ; Bhairy, Nagib ; Bonnet, Sophie ; Carlotti, Francois ; Cornils, Astrid ; Crockford, E. Taylor ; Daniel, Patrick ; Desnos, Corinne ; Drago, Laetitia ; Elineau, Amanda ; Fischer, Alexis D. ; Grandremy, Nina ; Grondin, Pierre-Luc ; Guidi, Lionel ; Guieu, Cecile ; Hauss, Helena ; Hayashi, Kendra ; Huggett, Jenny A. ; Jalabert, Laetitia ; Karp-Boss, Lee ; Kenitz, Kasia M. ; Kudela, Raphael M. ; Lescot, Magali ; Marec, Claudie ; McDonnell, Andrew M. P. ; Meriguet, Zoe ; Niehoff, Barbara ; Noyon, Margaux ; Panaiotis, Thelma ; Peacock, Emily E. ; Picheral, Marc ; Riquier, Emilie ; Roesler, Collin S. ; Romagnan, Jean-Baptiste ; Sosik, Heidi M. ; Spencer, Gretchen ; Taucher, Jan ; Tilliette, Chloe ; Vilain, Marion
    In marine ecosystems, most physiological, ecological, or physical processes are size dependent. These include metabolic rates, the uptake of carbon and other nutrients, swimming and sinking velocities, and trophic interactions, which eventually determine the stocks of commercial species, as well as biogeochemical cycles and carbon sequestration. As such, broad-scale observations of plankton size distribution are important indicators of the general functioning and state of pelagic ecosystems under anthropogenic pressures. Here, we present the first global datasets of the Pelagic Size Structure database (PSSdb), generated from plankton imaging devices. This release includes the bulk particle normalized biovolume size spectrum (NBSS) and the bulk particle size distribution (PSD), along with their related parameters (slope, intercept, and R2) measured within the epipelagic layer (0–200 m) by three imaging sensors: the Imaging FlowCytobot (IFCB), the Underwater Vision Profiler (UVP), and benchtop scanners. Collectively, these instruments effectively image organisms and detrital material in the 7–10 000 µm size range. A total of 92 472 IFCB samples, 3068 UVP profiles, and 2411 scans passed our quality control and were standardized to produce consistent instrument-specific size spectra averaged to 1° × 1° latitude and longitude and by year and month. Our instrument-specific datasets span most major ocean basins, except for the IFCB datasets we have ingested, which were exclusively collected in northern latitudes, and cover decadal time periods (2013–2022 for IFCB, 2008–2021 for UVP, and 1996–2022 for scanners), allowing for a further assessment of the pelagic size spectrum in space and time.