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Tara Oceans: towards global ocean ecosystems biology
Shinichi Sunagawa1, Silvia G Acinas2, Peer Bork3,4,5
1Department of Biology, Institute of Microbiology and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland. ssunagawa@ethz.ch.
Nature Reviews. Microbiology
|May 14, 2020
Summary
The Tara Oceans expedition provides a global view of ocean plankton, revealing its complexity and interconnectedness. This research offers crucial insights into marine ecosystems and planetary habitability in the face of climate change.
Area of Science:
- Marine biology
- Oceanography
- Ecosystem science
Background:
- Understanding the ocean ecosystem is vital, especially with climate change.
- The Tara Oceans project addresses the complexity of marine life across taxonomic and spatial scales.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the Tara Oceans project's work on assessing ocean life complexity.
- To highlight the project's contribution to understanding plankton diversity and ecology.
- To showcase the value of global-scale data for ecosystem assessment.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a modified sailing boat for global plankton sampling at 210 sites.
- Collected samples at depths down to 1,000 meters.
- Compiled publicly available molecular, morphological, and environmental data.
Main Results:
- Expanded understanding of plankton diversity and ecology through an ecosystems biology approach.
- Demonstrated the ocean as a planetary, interconnected ecosystem.
- Established a baseline of global ocean data.
Conclusions:
- Global-scale data integration is key to understanding biological complexity in marine models.
- Tara Oceans provides essential data for assessing ecosystem changes.
- The project informs future planetary habitability assessments in the Anthropocene.
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