Integrating biodiversity and oceanographic information for modeling and predicting Southern Ocean diatom biogeography
Final Report Abstract
This project explored the possibilities of applying presence-only based species distribution modeling to publicly available observation data on Southern Ocean diatoms, important drivers of the biogeochemical cycles of carbon and silicon. Located in the Hustedt diatom collection with a substantial polar component, we were able to critically evaluate the suitability and biogeographic coverage of publicly available observation data. The main problems we observed with public taxon observation data were biased and incomplete geographic coverage and the lack of transparence of taxon identifications. For selected species, we provided an example how both issues can be addressed using accessions of the Hustedt collection. Our main recommendation is to always provide voucher images and, if possible, pointers to physical vouchers in public herbaria when recording taxon occurrences. The species distribution models calculated allow, for the first time, a quantitative insight into biogeographic patterns of Southern Ocean diatoms, going beyond typically used verbal circumscriptions like cosmopolitan vs. endemic species. It appears that in spite of the relative oceanographic homogeneity of the Southern Ocean, a certain latitudinal / frontal zonation of phytoplankton species is observable. Projections of potential niches upon environmental variables from coupled atmospheric-ocean-biogeochemical models suggest that although the Southern Ocean is currently less impacted by global warming and its consequences than the Arctic Ocean, by the end of the century, biogeographic shifts and changes in seasonal distribution patterns of planktonic organisms might be expected even in this region.
Publications
- (2012): Exploring the possibilities of collection-based ecosystem research at the Hustedt Centre, International Diatom Symposium, Ghent, Belgium, 26 August 2012 - 31 August 2012
Beszteri, B. , Pinkernell, S. and Hinz, F.
- (2012): Species distribution modeling of marine pelagic diatoms, 22nd International Diatom Symposium, Ghent, Belgium, 27 August 2012 - 31 August 2012
Pinkernell, S. and Beszteri, B.
- (2013): A species distribution model of the marine diatom Fragilariopsis kerguelensis, EurOceans Hot Topics Conference - A Changing Ocean, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, 6 November 2013 - 8 November 2013
Pinkernell, S. and Beszteri, B.
- (2014). Potential effects of climate change on the distribution range of the main silicate sinker of the Southern Ocean. Ecology and Evolution 4: 3147-3161
Pinkernell, S. & Beszteri, B.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1138) - (2014): Modelling the biogeography of Antarctic phytoplankton, ECEM 2014 - 8th European Conference on Ecological Modelling, Marrakesh, MOROCCO, 27 October 2014 - 30 October 2014
Pinkernell, S. and Beszteri, B.
- (2015):Re-using diatom observation data: species distribution modeling of pelagic marine diatoms. 9th Central European Diatom Meeting, 10-13. March 2015, Bremerhaven
Pinkernell, S. and Beszteri, B.
