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Updated: Sep 4, 2025
09:01
An Ultra-clean Multilayer Apparatus for Collecting Size Fractionated Marine Plankton and Suspended Particles
Published on: April 19, 2018
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How do plankton species coexist in an apparently unstructured environment?
Loïck Kléparski1,2, Grégory Beaugrand1, Richard R Kirby3,4
1Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, University Littoral Côte d'Opale, CNRS, Univ. Lille, UMR 8187 - LOG, Wimereux F-62930, France.
Biology Letters
|July 20, 2022
Summary
The plankton paradox is solved: distinct ecological niches allow species coexistence. Marine environments are complex and variable, supporting niche theory and competitive exclusion for all life forms.
Area of Science:
- Marine Ecology
- Plankton Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- The "paradox of the plankton" questions how numerous species coexist competing for similar resources.
- Previous assumptions of similar plankton requirements and homogeneous marine environments are challenged.
- Existing hypotheses include environmental heterogeneity and biotic variability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the ecological niche of plankton species.
- To determine if distinct niches explain species coexistence in marine ecosystems.
- To re-evaluate the structure and stability of pelagic habitats.
Main Methods:
- Characterization of the ecological niche for 117 plankton species across three taxonomic groups.
- Analysis of marine environmental structure and temporal variability.
- Application of niche theory and the principle of competitive exclusion.
Main Results:
- All 117 studied plankton species possess sufficiently distinct ecological niches.
- Evidence confirms marine pelagic habitats are spatially and temporally diverse.
- The marine environment is neither unstructured nor stable, contrary to initial postulates.
Conclusions:
- Niche differentiation is a key factor enabling plankton species coexistence.
- The niche theory and competitive exclusion principle are applicable to plankton.
- Marine ecosystems are complex and dynamic, supporting diverse life forms through niche partitioning.
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