DY029 Phytoplankton and microzooplankton species abundance.

(1) Plymouth Marine Laboratory

This dataset contains phytoplankton and microzooplankton taxa-specific abundance data that were enumerated from profile samples collected in the upper euphotic zone during the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Shelf Sea Biogeochemistry (SSB) pelagic cruise DY029 (April 2015) in the Celtic Sea. Samples were preserved in acid Lugol's iodine and analysed using light microscopy by Claire Widdicombe following the British Standard (BS EN 15204: 2006) 'Water quality — Guidance standard on the enumeration of phytoplankton using inverted microscopy (Utermohl technique)'. Where possible all phyto- and microzooplantkon cells >15um were identified to species level and grouped according to six functional groups: DIATOMS, AUTOTROPHIC DINOFLAGELLATES, HETEROTROPHIC DINOFLAGELLATES, CILIATES, FLAGELLATES AND MISCELLANEOUS. Mean cell measurements were used to calculate cell biovolume, assuming appropriate geometric shapes (Olenina et al. 2006) and converted to carbon (pgC cell^-1) using the equations of Menden-Deuer and Lessard (2000). The author does not have any concerns over the quality of the data set and values are consistent with similar data reported in the wider literature. The data were collected as part of the SSB research programme in the CaNDyFloSS: Carbon and Nutrient Dynamics and Fluxes over Shelf Systems research programme component. SSB was co-funded by the NERC and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The programme took a holistic approach to the cycling of nutrients and carbon and the controls on primary and secondary production in UK and European shelf seas, to increase understanding of these processes and their role in wider biogeochemical cycles. The British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC) created the metadata entry and is responsible for holding master copies of the data.