Biodiversity hotspots of primary
producers at the global scale
Alice Soccodato
In collaboration with: d’Ovidio F, De Monte S,
Levy M, Follows M, Alvain S.
Liege – Friday 17 May 2013
Why do we care about biodiversity?
Individuals
Species & communities:
migration, dispersal, blooming,
diapose, ecological niche, range
size and localization,
(di)synhcronization,
(dis)equilibrium, (un)coupling,
energy flux, matter flux
allelic diversity, activity rates,
susceptibility, survival, natural
selection
Ecosystem:
resistance & resilience,
functioning & services
gamma
alpha
beta
Cadotte 2006
“Everything is everywhere but
environment selects”
(Baas-Becking 1934)
Microbes can
be dispersed
universally but only
measurable where
conditions promote
their growth.
Species distributions and successions are
based on a phase-space defined by energy and
nutrients
Which are the ecological controls of
phytoplankton biodiversity in the (sub)mesoscale open ocean?
- biophysical mechanisms (role of stirring) structuring
meso- and sub-mesoscale distribution of phytoplankton
species or functional types, aggregation and dispersion;
- mapping biodiversity hotspots and gradients by
integrating remote sensing, models and in situ data;
Data:
Methods
- Multisatellite data (altimetry, SST, Chl);
- Darwin model
(Follows et al. 2007; Barton et al.2010);
- in-situ observations of planktonic communities;
Analyses:
- Physat algorithm: chl spectra
phytoplankton dominant
group (Alvain et al. 2008, 2012);
- Lagrangian diagnostics: surface currents
transport
fronts, mixing regions and origin of water masses
(F. d'Ovidio et
al. 2010);
- Biodiversity measures: remote sensed, model simulations
and in-situ data
hotspots.
Phytoplankton biogeography
Follows et al. 2007
Physat
Horizontal stirring and phytoplankton
communities: towards the definition of a new
biodiversity index
high
low
Area-based Shannon
entropy Index
Global patterns of area-based diversity
Hotspots by remote
sensing
Hotspots by
Darwin Model
Alpha
Alpha vs area-based biodiversity
Area-based
Darwin model
Darwin model
satellite (De Monte S, Soccodato A, et al 2013)
Alpha vs area-based biodiversity
Darwin alpha biodiversity hotspots
Alpha vs area-based biodiversity
Darwin Alpha + Darwin area-based biodiversity hotspots
Alpha vs area-based biodiversity
Darwin Alpha + Darwin area-based + Physat area-based biodiversity hotspots
Alpha vs area-based biodiversity:
in-situ nano-microplankton biodiversity
Alpha div.
(AMT)
Area-based
div. (satellite)
De Monte S, Soccodato A, et al. 2013
Alpha vs area-based biodiversity:
in-situ biodiversity through taxa
Alpha vs area-based biodiversity:
in-situ biodiversity through taxa
Biodiversity vs temperature
Area-based diversity vs SST
Metabolic diversity vs T
Stegen et al. 2012
Oceanic diversity vs SST
De Monte S, Soccodato A, et al. 2013
Tittensor et al. 2010
Conclusions



Stirring creates environmental heterogeneity
structuring phytoplankton distribution
Information on the alpha biodiversity of the
whole phytoplankton community can be
retrieved from just looking at the patchiness
of dominant phytoplankton types
Patchiness happears as a functional structure
of the pelagic environment with possible
bottom up effect on the trophic chain.
Any questions?
I'm all ears!
Btw I’m a fenneck!
Thanks!
Alpha
Alpha vs area-based biodiversity
Vallina et al. submitted
Area-based
Barton et al. 2010
Darwin model
satellite (De Monte S, Soccodato A, et al 2013)
Temporal diversity