Extreme spatial variability in marine picoplankton and its consequences for interpreting Eulerian time-series

A high-resolution mesoscale spatial survey of picoplankton in the Celtic Sea, using flow cytometry, reveals cell concentrations of Synechococcus spp. cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria that vary up to 50-fold over distances as short as 12 km. Furthermore, the range of abundances is comparable to that typically found on seasonal scales at a single location. Advection of such spatial variability through a time-series site would therefore constitute a major source of 'error'. Consequently, attempts to model and to investigate the ecology of these globally important organisms in situ must take into account and quantify the hitherto ignored local spatial variability as a matter of necessity.