Continuous Plankton Recorder
The Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) Survey is one of the longest running
Today the CPR Survey is operated by the Marine Biological Association (MBA), located in
Sampling and analysis
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The CPR is a torpedo-shaped plankton sampling instrument designed to be towed from
CPR's have been towed in all oceans of the world, the
The CPR is towed at a depth of approximately 10 metres. Water passes through the CPR and plankton are filtered onto a slow-moving band of
CPR samples are analysed in two ways. Firstly, the Phytoplankton Colour Index (PCI) is determined for each sample.[3] The colour of the silk is evaluated against a standard colour chart and given a 'green-ness' value based on the visual discoloration of the CPR silk produced by green chlorophyll pigments; the PCI is a semi-quantitative estimate of phytoplankton biomass. In this way the PCI takes into account the chloroplasts of broken cells and small phytoplankton which cannot be counted during the microscopic analysis stage. After determination of the PCI, microscopic analysis is undertaken for each sample, and individual phytoplankton and zooplankton taxa are identified and counted. Nearly 800 phyto- and zooplankton taxa have been identified on CPR samples since 1948.[4][5]
Plankton Archive
Housing the world's largest catalogued plankton archive with samples dating back to the late 1950s, the Survey holds thousands of samples from around the world. These are available for various types of retrospective analysis such as microscopic/ taxonomic, molecular and isotopic.[6]
Ecological research
Due to its long time-series, comprehensive spatial coverage and methodological consistency, the Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey is a unique ecological dataset which has provided invaluable insights into numerous aspects of plankton dynamics and ecology. Its science mission is to provide the 'big picture' on global ocean change from genes to ecosystems.[citation needed]
Key areas of research include:
- Climate change
- Biodiversity and biogeography
- Eutrophication
- Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs)
- Fisheries investigations
- Plankton ecology
- Taxonomy
- Regime shifts
- Non-indigenous species
- Marine Litter including microplastics
- Ocean Acidification
- Human Health
Research results show that warmer water species of plankton are moving northwards towards the colder North Atlantic at a rate of about 23 km (14 mi) per year and that some plankton species have moved 1,000 km (620 mi) north over the course of 50 years due to regional climate warming. But they are not replacing the cold water species in similar abundance. The open oceans are not yet subject to eutrophication or changes due to acidification. It has detected a new species in the North Atlantic which may be the first evidence of Trans-Arctic species migration in modern times.[7]
The term "microplastics" was introduced in 2004 by Professor Richard Thompson, a marine biologist at the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom using silks sampled by the CPR.[8] The Survey is unique in that it has an historical archive with samples available for retrospective analysis. Research shows the number of microplastics collected on CPR samples is increasing. Despite their prevalence, very few long-term (>40 years) records of the distribution and temporal trends of plastics in the world's oceans exist. The CPR Survey presented a new time series, from 1957 to 2016 and covering over 6.5 million nautical miles, based on records of when plastics have become entangled on a towed marine sampler. This consistent time series provides some of the earliest records of plastic entanglement, and is the first to confirm a significant increase in open ocean plastics in recent decades.[9]
References
- ^ "Sir Cyril Lucas". The Telegraph. 26 February 2002.
- ^ "Greatest distance sampled by a marine survey".
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- ^ "CPR Survey | International Sample Archive".
- ISSN 1744-0750.
- S2CID 3269482.
- PMID 30992426.