SOP Quantifying Marine Phytoplankton at PML, UK

Key Points

• The aim is to establish a reliable method for identifying and counting marine phytoplankton in preserved samples.
• Developed a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for marine phytoplankton identification.
• Used the Utermohl settlement microscopy technique for enumeration.
• Tested various preserved seawater samples from Plymouth Laboratory.
• Successfully identified and quantified nano- and microplankton species.
• Standardization improved consistency in marine phytoplankton data collection.