The rate or amount of precipitation (liquid or solid) deposited from the atmosphere.
Rainfall
accepted
phyto vre thesaurus
Abiotic parameters are physical and chemical environmental factors that influence an ecosystem, such as temperature, light, water, soil, and chemical composition, independent of living organisms.
Abiotic parameter
A data template is a standardized structure for organizing and recording data in a consistent and reproducible manner.
Data Template
The amount of water vapour (relative humidity, dew point temperature) in the atmosphere.
Humidity
Humidité
Depth is the vertical distance below the surface.
depth
A spatial region or named place.
Location
Quantity (i.e. number of moles) of acid-neutralising bases per unit mass of the water column.
ALKALINITY
ALKW
Concentration of arsenic per unit volume of the water body.
Arsenic in water body
ARSW
Concentration of cadmium per unit volume of the water body
Cadmium in water body
CADW
The quantity (i.e. number of moles) of organic carbon (i.e. carbon not in carbonate or bicarbonate molecules) dissolved per unit volume of the water column
DISSOLVED ORGANIC CARBON
Volume of oxygen dissolved per unit volume of the water column.
DISSOLVED OXYGEN
The concentration of dissolved oxygen expressed as a proportion of the oxygen concentration in water that is in equilibrium with the atmosphere.
OXYGEN SATURATION
Minus the log of the hydrogen ion concentration (moles per litre) in the water column.
Concentration of inorganic carbon per unit volume of the water body, filtration and method unknown.
PARTICULATE INORGANIC CARBON
Quantity (i.e. number of moles) of inorganic nitrogen (i.e. nitrogen not in carbon compounds) dissolved per unit volume of the water column.
DISSOLVED INORGANIC NITROGEN
Conductivity
The amount (volume or mass) of suspended particule material per amount (volume or mass) of a body of water.
Turbidity
Concentrations of dissolved inorganic silicon usually as hydrosilicic acid (often called silicate) and biogenic silica.
Silicates
The quantity of an entity gravitationally settling through a medium per unit area per unit time.
Sedimentation flux
The mass of sodium chloride dissolved per unit mass of the water column (definition prior to introduction of PSS-78 Practical Salinity Scale).
Salinity
Term to be used when the property reported is a characteristic of a survey (for example its area, its duration). A survey is a sampling activity which can be made up of a single or multiple sampling events.
survey
An action that occurs at some location during some time.
Event
The Phytoplankton Virtual Research Environment (PHYTO VRE) supports research on phytoplankton assemblages and their structure, organization, and ecological functions. It integrates data resources, web services, and modelling tools to address both basic and applied studies in phytoplankton ecology, with a level of resolution ranging from individual cells to entire assemblages.
PHYTOPLANKTON VRE
PHYTO VRE
One of six chemical elements classified as an alkaline earth metal. Its atomic number is 20.
Calcium
Geometric model composed of more than one geometric shape.
Complex shape
Combination of shapes
The approximate shape of an organism.
Shape
Cell shape
Form
Type
A web service including a catalogue of geometrical models for calculating biovolume and surface area of phytoplankton taxa. It includes illustrative schemes of simple and complex shapes.
Atlas of Shapes
Volume of an organism (cell or colony). It is calculated according to the geometric equations, after association of geometric shape to the real shape of the organism and measurements of linear dimensions (length, width). It is used for samples that are analysed by imaging systems.
Biovolume
Biov
Cell volume
Harris, R.P., Wiebe, P.H., Lenz, J., Skjoldal, H.R., Huntley, M. (Eds) ICES Zooplankton Methodology Manual, Academic Press, 684 pp.
Biotic parameters are environmental factors related to living organisms and their interactions, including competition, predation, mutualism, and population density within an ecosystem.
Biotic parameter
An organism that lives on, in, or near the bottom of a water body, such as the seabed or the bottom of a freshwater system. This includes habitats in the littoral, sublittoral, and abyssal zones, and may cover areas exposed during low tide. The term may be further subdivided into depth-related benthic zones (e.g., infralittoral, circalittoral, bathyal, abyssal), which can also be used as attributes to describe the organism’s specific vertical distribution.
Benthic
Benthonic
Benthos
MarLIN, 2006. BIOTIC - Biological Traits Information Catalogue. www.marlin.ac.uk/biotic
A web service for phytoplankton identification and classification. It provides illustrative pages for phytoplankton taxa including taxonomic information with photographs and or synonyms bibliographic references ecological and morphological characteristics and geographical distribution.
Atlas of Phytoplankton
A geometric model composed of a single geometric shape.
Simple shape
An organism shape that approximates a cone.
Cone
Cone-shaped
Conic
Conical
Coniform
Conoid
Transversal striae in 10µm
Striae in 10 µm
Fine, parallel lines, rows of areolae, or grooves on the surface of algal cell walls (especially diatom frustules), often used as taxonomic characters.
Striae
The distribution of organisms in distinct areas, layers, or zones. Variations in depth and definition occur depending on the source, area, or research purpose.
Distribution
Central striae in 10 µm
Pervalvar striae in 10µm
Dorsal striae in 10µm
An organism that live in the water column and is passively transported by currents, at least during part of their life.
Planktonic
Carbon content determined directly as particulate organic carbon of individual organisms or bulk communities, or indirectly by converting biovolume to carbon using empirical or theoretically derived equations.
Carbon content
Any group of organisms, often genetically identical, living together or in close proximity, association. It refers to a group of organisms in which the members act as specialised subunits and are able to function as a single organism.
Colonial
Coloniality
Modular
Modularity
Length of haptonema
Haptonema length
A slender, filament-like organelle found in haptophyte algae, superficially resembling a flagellum but structurally and functionally distinct. The haptonema is not used for locomotion but for attachment, food capture, and sensing the environment.
Haptonema
The amount of living organic matter per unit area or per unit volume. It can be expressed in terms of biovolume, weight or carbon content and can be measured at different organisational levels.
Biomass
The number of organisms, designated by taxonomic names (e.g. species, genus, family), per unit area or per unit volume.
Density
Absolute density
Abundance
The inherent ability of an organism to produce, accumulate, or release biochemical compounds that are harmful to other organisms, influencing survival, growth, or behavior.
Toxicity
Transapical striae in 10µm
Any environment that is primarily water-based.
Aquatic
The area occupied by the organism's surface.
For macroalgae, it refers to the surface occupied by the thallus. It can be estimated using colorimetry, image analysis and physical measurement of leaf area (Armstrong et al., 2003).
For phytoplankton, it refers to the area of a single cell or colony, after association of geometric shape to the real shape of the organism (Hillebrand et al., 1999).
Surface Area
Third dimension of a cell, measured perpendicular to its length and width.
Cell thickness
Cell height
Cellular height
Cellular thickness
Linear dimensions refer to measurements taken along a single straight line, such as diameter, width, height, or length, used to describe the size or spatial extent of an object.
Linear dimensions
Striae along the setae in 10µm
An organism that can synthesise organic molecules from inorganic sources using energy from light via photosynthesis or from chemical reactions via chemosynthesis.
Autotroph
Autotrophic
Autotrophs
autotrophic organisms
autotrophy
photoautotrophs
photoautotrophy
photosynthetic organisms
phototroph
phoyoautotrophic organisms
Setae per valve
Bristle-like siliceous projections extending from the valves of certain diatoms (e.g., Chaetoceros). Setae can aid in buoyancy, defense, and colony formation, and their length, thickness, and ornamentation are important taxonomic features.
Setae
Seta
Terminal striae in 10 µm
Marginal striae in 10 µm
Monoraphid
A longitudinal slit in the silica valve of motile diatoms, allowing the secretion of mucilage used for gliding locomotion.
Raphe
Striae (apex) in 10µm
Coccolith polygonal, may have perforations.
Coccolith-prismatolith
Prismatolith
Microscopic calcium carbonate plates produced by coccolithophores. Coccoliths are secreted inside the cell and then extruded to cover the cell surface, forming a coccosphere. They occur in different shapes (e.g., calyptroliths, lopadoliths, scapholiths) and are important taxonomic features.
Coccoliths
The full scientific name of the genus in which the taxon is classified.
Genus
genus
A group of organisms (sensu http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/OBI_0100026) considered by taxonomists to form a homogeneous unit.
Taxon
An opening on the cell surface through which a flagellum emerges.
Flagellar pore
An online software service that enables interoperability between systems and applications via the internet. In the phytoplankton VRE, web services provide access to databases, modeling functions, or interactive data visualization.
e-Service
Total concentration of suspended solid particles in water.
Total Suspended Solids
TSS
Concentration or amount of potassium ions.
Potassium
Refers to waters that are nutrient-rich, with high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus, abundant algal and plant growth, reduced transparency, and possible oxygen depletion.
Eutrophic
Water trophic status refers to the classification of water bodies based on their nutrient availability and biological productivity, which together determine the capacity of the system to support algal and plant growth.
Water trophic status
Ellipsoidal coccoliths with a raised rim, in some cases the high rim forms a vase or cup-like structure.
Coccoliths-discolith
Discolith
The first girdle band of a diatom frustule, directly attached to a valve (epivalve or hypovalve). It is usually distinguished from the other girdle bands by its position and, in some taxa, by its ornamentation.
Valvocopula
One of the two siliceous halves of a diatom frustule. Each valve forms part of the rigid cell wall and is usually highly ornamented with features such as striae, areolae, and raphe. The two valves (epivalve and hypovalve) overlap at their margins and are joined by the girdle (cingulum) to form the complete frustule.
Valve
Valves
Sum of all nitrogen forms (organic, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia) in a sample.
Total Nitrogen
The full scientific name of the superfamily in which the taxon is classified.
Superfamily
superfamily
The axis running perpendicular to the apical axis, across the width of the valve in apical view. Third axis of a bilateral diatom.
Transapical axis
The name of the water body in which the location occurs.
Water Body
waterBody
Organic carbon suspended in water as particles, including phytoplankton and detritus, per unit volume of the water column.
Particulate Organic Carbon
POC
The orientation of a phytoplankton cell when observed from the ventral (front) side, usually defined relative to the sulcus (in dinoflagellates) or the main body axis.
Ventral view
Orientation of a diatom cell when observed from the side of one of its valves (the flat surface of the epivalve or hypovalve). In this view, the valve face and its ornamentation (striae, areolae, raphe) are visible.
Valve view
A web service to analyze and interpret phytoplankton size-class distribution patterns.
Size Class
The name of the first or species epithet of the scientificName.
Specific Epithet
specificEpithet
The full scientific name of the class in which the taxon is classified.
Class
class
Coccolith rhombohedral, with parallel lines in center.
Coccolith-scapholith
Scapholith
Size-fractionated phytoplankton biomass for microplankton.
Chlorophyll Microplankton
Chl micro
Chlorophyll a content
Postcingular plates are the thecal plates located immediately below the cingulum, forming the upper portion of the hypotheca.
Postcingular plates
Kofoid, C. A. (1909). On the classification of dinoflagellates. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 34, 192–203.
Thecal plates are rigid, cellulose-based structural elements that together form the theca, the protective outer covering of thecate dinoflagellates. They are arranged in a species-specific pattern, and their number, shape, and arrangement define the cell morphology, polarity, and structural organization. The configuration of thecal plates is a primary diagnostic feature in dinoflagellate taxonomy and systematics.
Thecal plates
An organism possessing cellulose thecal plates.
Prorocentrum, Dinophysis, Heterocapsa, Alexandrium.
Thecate
Armored
with teca
The specific description of the place.
Locality
locality
An identifier (preferably unique) for the record within the data set or collection.
Catalog Number
catalogNumber
An existence of a dwc:Organism at a particular place at a particular time.
Occurrence
Primary production for picoplankton.
Primary Production Picoplankton
PP pico
The rate at which photosynthetic organisms produce net useful chemical energy after accounting for respiration.
Net Primary Production
NPP
Disc- or bowl-shaped coccoliths
Coccoliths-caneolith
Caneolith
The full scientific name of the family in which the taxon is classified.
Family
family
Radiating ridges or thickened lines on certain thecal plates of dinoflagellates, used as diagnostic features in tabulation.
Ribs
A diversity index that accounts for both species richness and evenness based on information theory.
Shannon Index
A web service to calculate phytoplankton community indices using different combinations of spatial and temporal levels. Common indices include Shannon, Simpson, and Pielou's Evenness and others.
Diversity Indices
Cluster analysis is a set of exploratory multivariate statistical techniques used for the grouping of samples or species, aiming to classify objects (observations or variables) into clusters based on their similarity or dissimilarity in order to reveal underlying patterns or structures in the data.The grouping is based on a measure of distance or similarity (e.g., Euclidean distance, Manhattan distance, correlation) and is carried out without a priori assumptions regarding the number or structure of the clusters.
Cluster Analysis
Systematic examination of data.
Data analysis
A projection extending from the posterior (antapex) of some dinoflagellate cells.
Antapical horn
Antapical plates are the posterior-most thecal plates, located at the antapex of the cell. They form the terminal part of the hypotheca and may give rise to antapical spines or horns.
Antapical plates
Fine, hair-like projections on the surface of flagella in some algae (e.g., chrysophytes, cryptophytes). They increase the surface area of the flagellum and enhance swimming efficiency.
Mastigonemes
Long, whip-like appendages used for movement or feeding.
Flagella
Total concentration of dissolved substances (such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, chlorides, sulfates, and bicarbonates) and small amounts of dissolved organic matter in water.
Total Dissolved Solids
TDS
In dinoflagellate morphology, para , meta and ortho are terms used to describe the cell shape based on the relative displacement of the epitheca and hypotheca along the longitudinal axis. In ORTHO shape, epitheca and hypotheca are arranged in a straight, continuous line along the longitudinal axis, with no displacement or offset. The cell appears symmetrical and elongated, with the cingulum encircling the middle.
Ortho shape
Eyespot (stigma) is a light-sensitive intracellular structure found in some motile phytoplankton, involved in light perception and phototactic orientation.
Eyespot
Stigma
Rarefaction analysis is a statistical resampling method used to standardize species richness or diversity among samples with different sampling efforts, allowing meaningful comparisons by estimating the expected number of species for a given number of individuals or samples.
Rarefaction Analysis
Rarefaction
A protein-rich body inside chloroplasts where starch or other reserve products are stored.
Pyrenoid
Refers to waters with intermediate nutrient levels and productivity, supporting moderate algal and plant growth. Considered transitional between oligotrophic and eutrophic states.
Mesotrophic
The type of quantification system used for the quantity of organisms.
Organism Quantity Type
organismQuantityType
A cap-like structure or covering at the end of a cell or filament, often seen in certain algae and cyanobacteria.
Calyptra
The upper or anterior half of a phytoplankton cell covering (e.g. theca in dinoflagellates, frustule in diatoms), usually the larger portion.
Epitheca
The rigid siliceous cell wall of diatoms, composed of two valves (epivalve and hypovalve) joined by a series of girdle bands (cingulum). The frustule is often intricately ornamented with features such as striae, areolae, and pores, which are important in diatom taxonomy.
Frustule
Total phosphorus in all forms (organic, inorganic, particulate, dissolved).
Total Phosphorus
The process that is used to produce a specific research result in a concrete domain. A workflow comprises a series of components that are arranged in a directed graph to set the order of execution of such components. Therefore, a workflow is usually a complex process and may involve both automatic and manual procedures for dealing with research objects and documenting them. Workflows may need instantiation in terms of input data and process parameters.
Workflow
Radiating, unornamented lines or sectors extending from the valve center toward the margin in some diatoms, forming clear radial zones without perforations, striae or areolae.
Hyaline band
A contractile organelle in some dinoflagellates thought to play a role in osmoregulation.
Pusula
Total concentration of Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ ions in water.
Hardness
Hard
Concentration or amount of magnesium ions.
Magnesium
Mg²⁺
Power of electromagnetic radiation per unit area (light received).
Light intensity (irradiance)
Irr
The number of transects refers to the number of diametral transects counted across the bottom of a sedimentation chamber.
Number of Transects
n_transects
Density by diameter transect counting is a quantitative microscopy method in which organisms settled on the bottom of a sedimentation chamber are counted along one or more transects spanning the chamber diameter.
Density per Diameter Transects
The Utermöhl method is the standard quantitative technique for phytoplankton counting. Samples are preserved (commonly with Lugol’s iodine), allowed to sediment in counting chambers, and examined using an inverted microscope.
Utermöhl Counting Method
Utermöhl
Thin, plate-like extensions of the theca along the edges of the cingulum in some dinoflagellates.
Cingular lists
The equatorial groove of dinoflagellates that contains the transverse flagellum.
Cingulum
Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) is a widely used metric to evaluate model performance; quantifies average difference between observed and predicted values.
Root Mean Square Error
RMSE
A dominance index that quantifies the relative importance of the most abundant species in a community.
Berger-Parker Index
The number of striae (rows of areolae) counted within a 10 µm section when arranged diagonally (obliquely) to the main axes of a diatom valve.
Oblique striae in 10µm
Basket or cup-shaped coccoliths with a high rim, opening distally
Coccolith-lopadolith
Lopadolith
Density by whole chamber counting is a quantitative microscopy approach in which all organisms settled on the bottom of the sedimentation chamber are counted, rather than a subsample of fields or transects.
Density by Whole Chamber Counting
Horseshoe or wishbone shaped coccoliths.
Coccoliths-ceratolith
Ceratolith
Ordination method that represents pairwise dissimilarities between samples in a low-dimensional space.
Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling
NMDS
Primary production for microplankton.
Primary Production Microplankton
PP micro
In dinoflagellate morphology, para , meta and ortho are terms used to describe the cell shape based on the relative displacement of the epitheca and hypotheca along the longitudinal axis. In META shape, Epitheca and hypotheca are offset (displaced) along the longitudinal axis, giving the cell an asymmetrical appearance with displaced halves.
Meta shape
A number or enumeration value for the quantity of organisms.
Organism Quantity
organismQuantity
The lower half of a diatom frustule, usually the smaller valve, which fits partly inside the upper valve (epivalve).
Lower valvae
Hypovalve
A web service for cleaning or subsetting raw data and to exclude from the data files taxa based on their ranked distribution in density, biovolume or carbon content.
Data Filtering
A membrane-bound organelle found in algae and plants that contains pigments and is the site of photosynthesis and other biosynthetic processes. In phytoplankton, plastids may contain chlorophylls and accessory pigments, giving cells their characteristic colors.
Plastid
The area of one microscope field of view at the used magnification.
Area of Field of View
Area FOV
The diameter of the field of view (FOV) is the linear distance across the circular area visible through a microscope at a given magnification. Used to calculate the field area and estimate the scale of observed specimens.
Diameter of Field of View
FOV
diameter FOV
The infrageneric part of a binomial name at ranks above species but below genus.
Infrageneric Epithet
infragenericEpithet
The four-digit year in which the event occurred, according to the Common Era Calendar.
Year
year
Refers to waters enriched with humic substances from decaying organic matter, typically brown in color, acidic, with low availability of nutrients for algae despite high organic content (common in bogs and peatlands).
Dystrophic
The status of the use of the scientificName as a label for a taxon. Requires taxonomic opinion to define the scope of a taxon. Rules of priority then are used to define the taxonomic status of the nomenclature contained in that scope, combined with the experts opinion. It must be linked to a specific taxonomic reference that defines the concept.
Taxonomic Status
taxonomicStatus
The integer month in which the event occurred.
Month
month
The axis running through the center point of the two valves of a diatom.
Pervalvar axis
A placolith with a spiral margin
Coccolith-helicolith
Helicolith
Highest rate of photosynthesis under optimal light conditions.
Maximum Photosynthetic Rate
Refers to organisms inhabiting coastal waters over the continental shelf, typically nutrient-rich and well-lit, as opposed to oceanic or deep-sea zones.
Neritic
Depth of visible light penetration, often measured with Secchi disk.
Transparency
Secchi disk
Transp
A perforated siliceous plate covering an areola in the valve of some diatoms. The cribrum has many tiny pores and functions as a sieve-like structure.
Cribrum
Pigment-containing structures that give cells their color and may aid in photosynthesis.
Chromatophors
The full scientific name of the order in which the taxon is classified.
Order
order
Apical plate 3′ is the third plate of the apical series in the epitheca of thecate dinoflagellates.
Apical plate 3'
Apical plates are a set of thecal plates located in the epitheca, near the apex of the cell, in thecate dinoflagellates. They form part of the apical series in the Kofoidian plate tabulation system and are conventionally indicated by prime symbols (′). The number, shape, and arrangement of apical plates are key diagnostic characters in dinoflagellate taxonomy.
Apical plates
A pore or pore-bearing plate at the apex of some dinoflagellates, often used as a diagnostic feature in tabulation.
Apical Pore
(Po)
The apical axis is the longitudinal morphological axis of a phytoplankton cell that extends from the apex (anterior end) to the antapex (posterior end).
Apical Axis
apical axis
An evenness index that measures how evenly individuals are distributed among species in a community.
Pielou's Evenness
The name of the country or major administrative unit in which the location occurs.
Country
country
The integer day of the month on which the event occurred.
Day
day
The main external opening of a diatom areola, typically visible on the valve surface. In some taxa, the foramen is covered internally by a cribrum or other sieve-like structure.
Foramen
Foramina
A hyaline ring-shaped structure or zone on the surface of some phytoplankton cells, often surrounding a central pore or area.
Annulus
Concentration of nitrate nitrogen per unit volume of the water column.
Nitrate
NO₃⁻
Inorganic phosphorus available for biological uptake (usually orthophosphate).
Dissolved Inorganic Phosphorus
DIP
Orthophosphate
PO₄³⁻
Hurlbert’s PIE (Probability of Interspecific Encounter) measures the probability that two randomly selected individuals from a community belong to different species.
Hurlbert’s Index
Hurlbert’s PIE (Probability of Interspecific Encounter)
Convex disc shaped coccoliths, may with a projecting central process.
Coccoliths-cyrtolith
Cyrtolith
A species richness index that relates the number of species to the logarithm of total abundance.
Margalef Index
Disc-shaped coccoliths, with numerous perforations in the central area.
Coccoliths-cribrilith
Cribrilith
Apical plate 1′ is the first plate of the apical series located in the epitheca of a thecate dinoflagellate, positioned adjacent to the apical pore complex.
Apical plate 1'
Concentration or amount of lead.
Lead
The full scientific name of the kingdom in which the taxon is classified.
Kingdom
kingdom
Concentration or amount of manganese.
Manganese
Refers to phytoplankton species that have been reported as potentially toxin-producing, but without consistent or conclusive confirmation across studies or strains.
Possibly toxic
A type of coccolith (calcium carbonate plate) produced by coccolithophores, typically formed during the haploid phase of the life cycle. Zygoliths differ in shape and structure from coccoliths of the diploid phase and are important for identifying life-cycle stages in coccolithophores.
Coccolith-zygolith
Zygolith
The effective number of species derived from Simpson’s index, representing the number of equally abundant species needed to produce the observed Simpson diversity.
Simpson Equivalents
The posterior (lower) portion of a dinoflagellate cell below the cingulum.
Hypocone
Concentration of nitrite nitrogen per unit volume of the water column.
Nitrite
NO₂⁻
Refers to waters that are nutrient-poor, with low concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus, high oxygen content, low biological productivity, and usually high transparency.
Oligotrophic
The geographic latitude (in decimal degrees, using the spatial reference system) of the geographic center of a location. Positive values are north of the Equator, negative values are south of it. Legal values lie between -90 and 90, inclusive.
Decimal Latitude
dec LAT
decimalLatitude
A central, unornamented zone on the valve that resembles a raphe but lacks a true slit and is non-functional for motility.
Pseudoraphe
pseudo-raphe
Electron Transport Rate (ETR) is a photosynthetic parameter that quantifies the rate at which electrons are transferred through the photosynthetic electron transport chain, primarily associated with Photosystem II (PSII) during the light reactions of photosynthesis. ETR is commonly used as an indicator of photosynthetic activity and efficiency.
Electron Transport Rate
ETR
Organelles containing pigments (like chlorophyll) where photosynthesis takes place.
Chloroplasts
The full scientific name, with authorship and date information if known. When forming part of a identification, this should be the name in lowest level taxonomic rank that can be determined.
Scientific Name
scientificName
Short, hair-like projections covering the cell surface, used for movement or creating currents.
Cilia
Concentration or amount of sulfate ions.
Sulfate
SO₄²⁻
The name of the lowest or terminal infraspecific epithet of the scientificName, excluding any rank designation.
Infraspecific Epithet
infraspecificEpithet
Refers to phytoplankton species or blooms that negatively affect ecosystems, human health, or water quality (e.g., harmful algal blooms).
Harmful
Primary production for nanoplankton.
Primary Production Nanoplankton
PP nano
A measure of compositional dissimilarity between communities or samples, based on species abundances or presence–absence data.
Bray-Curtis, Jaccard, Euclidean
Dissimilarity Index
A thickened area or silica deposit on the valve resembling a nodule, but not a true structural nodule.
Pseudonodule
Microscopic photosynthetic organisms (mainly unicellular algae and cyanobacteria) that live suspended in aquatic environments. They form the base of the aquatic food web and produce a significant share of Earth’s oxygen through photosynthesis.
Phytoplankton
Efficiency of photosystem II photochemistry in dark-adapted state.
Maximum Quantum Yield of PSII
Fv/Fm
The full scientific name of the phylum or division in which the taxon is classified.
Phylum
phylum
Total carbon fixed by photosynthesis in an ecosystem.
Gross Primary Production
GPP
Basket-shaped coccoliths with openings near the base.
Calyptroliths
Calyptrolith
The effective number of species derived from the Shannon index, representing the number of equally abundant species needed to produce the observed Shannon diversity.
Shannon Equivalents
A gelatinous, sticky substance secreted by cells, often forming protective layers or colonies.
Mucilage
The number of random fields refers to the count of microscope fields of view selected at random within the sedimentation chamber and examined during microscopic analysis.
Number of Random Fields
N field
n_fields
Density by random field counting is a quantitative microscopy method in which organism density is estimated by counting individuals in a fixed number of randomly selected microscope fields of view within the sedimentation chamber.
Density per Random Fields
Water temperature measured in situ.
Water Temperature
The degree of hotness of an object, a measurement matrix, an environment, expressed against a standard scale.
Degré de chaleur d'un objet, d'une matrice, d'un environnement, exprimé selon une échelle standard.
Temperature
température
Concentration or amount of chloride ions
Chloride
Cl⁻
A diversity index based on the distance of a community from a hypothetical community in which all species are equally abundant.
McIntosh Index
The posterior end of a phytoplankton cell, opposite the apical region.
Antapex
PCA is an unsupervised ordination method that reduces dimensionality by summarizing variance in species data into a reduced set of orthogonal components. PCA achieves this by transforming a set of possibly correlated variables into a smaller number of uncorrelated variables, known as principal components, which are linear combinations of the original variables and are ordered according to the amount of variance they explain.
Principal Component Analysis
PCA
A girdle band is an individual silica band forming part of the girdle of a diatom frustule.
Girdle band
The part of the frustule located between the epivalve and the hypovalve, consisting of the epicingulum and hypocingulum
Girdle
Cinture
Orientation of a cell when observed from the side of the girdle (cingulum).
Girdle view
Concentration or amount of iron.
Iron
A raised ridge or fold along the cingulum, sometimes bearing lists, characteristic of some dinoflagellate genera.
Cingular crest
Setae (bristle-like siliceous projections) that arise from the terminal ends of a diatom cell or valve. They may aid in buoyancy, defense, or colony formation and are diagnostic in some genera.
Terminal setae
A longitudinal groove on the surface of dinoflagellates, where the longitudinal flagellum is inserted.
Sulcus
Total Chlorophyll
Chl tot
A single plate with a club-shaped central process.
Coccolith-rhabdolith
Rhabdolith
A replicate is an independent repetition of a measurement, observation, or experimental unit performed under the same conditions to assess variability, improve precision, and ensure reliability of results.
Replicate
Number of species present in a community or sample.
Taxonomic Richness
The dilution (or concentration) factor is a dimensionless coefficient that quantifies the change in concentration of a sample resulting from dilution or concentration procedures. It is defined as the ratio between the final volume and the original sample volume and is used to convert measured concentrations to original (or concentrated) values.
Factor
Redundancy Analysis (RDA) is a constrained ordination technique and an extension of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) that relates multivariate response data to explanatory variables through linear constraints.
Redundancy Analysis
RDA
A species richness index that accounts for the number of species relative to the logarithm of total abundance. The Gleason Index is defined as (S − 1) / ln(N), where S is species richness and N is total abundance.
Gleason Index
A tubular or funnel-like invagination of the cell membrane used to ingest food particles.
Gullet
Size-fractionated phytoplankton biomass for nanoplankton.
Chlorophyll Nanoplankton
Chl nano
Refers to waters that are extremely nutrient-enriched, with excessive algal blooms, very poor water clarity, frequent oxygen depletion (anoxia), and degraded ecological conditions.
Hypertrophic
Hypereutrophic
Apical plate 2′ is the second plate of the apical series in the epitheca of thecate dinoflagellates.
Apical plate 2'
The geographic longitude (in decimal degrees, using the spatial reference system) of the geographic center of a location. Positive values are east of the Greenwich Meridian, negative values are west of it. Legal values lie between -180 and 180, inclusive.
Decimal Longitude
dec LONG
decimalLongitude
Ordination method that relates community composition directly to environmental variables.
Canonical Correspondence Analysis
CCA
A measure of species turnover or variation in species composition among sites or samples.
Beta Diversity
β diversity
β-diversity
A type of coccolith produced by coccolithophores, distinguished by its elongated, boat- or canoe-shaped morphology.
Coccoliths-scapholith
Apical plate 4′ is the fourth plate of the apical series located in the epitheca of thecate dinoflagellates.
Apical plate 4'
Placoliths are a type of coccolith, characterized by a flat, disk-like structure composed of two shields (a distal shield and a proximal shield) connected by a central tube or collar.
Coccolith-placolith
Placolith
The arrangement and pattern of thecal plates forming the outer covering of dinoflagellates, used for classification.
Tabulation
A treatment is a defined experimental condition applied to test its effect on a response variable.
Treatment
The settling volume is the volume of sample introduced into the sedimentation chamber and allowed to settle before microscopic examination.
Settling Volume
volume of sedimentation chamber
A tubular process on the valve of centric diatoms, typically surrounded by satellite pores. Fultoportulae function in secretion and buoyancy regulation and are diagnostic morphological features in many diatom groups.
Fultopurtula
Fultopurtulae
The full scientific name of the subfamily in which the taxon is classified.
Subfamily
subfamily
Small pore-like structures on the surface of some algal cell walls, typically arranged in patterns.
Poroids
The upper half of a diatom frustule, usually the larger valve, which overlaps the lower valve (hypovalve).
Upper valvae
Epivalve
A thin perforated layer of silica across an areola.
Velum
Regularly repeated perforation through the valve wall, often marked by more or less elaborate multiangular walls or ribs.
Areola
A projection or extension from the apical end of some dinoflagellate cells.
Apical horn
SARIMAX (Seasonal AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average with eXogenous regressors) is a seasonal extension of ARIMA that incorporates external regressors to model and forecast time series influenced by both internal dynamics and exogenous factors.
Seasonal AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average with eXogenous regressors
SARIMAX
An identifier for the broader dwc:Event that groups this and potentially other events.
Parent Event ID
parentEventID
Refers to organisms that normally live attached to surfaces or in benthic habitats, but which can occur temporarily in the plankton when detached and carried by water movements.
Tychoplanktic
A simplified computation method within the Trait Computation web service that uses shape approximations (e.g., length × width) to estimate size-related traits such as biovolume and surface area; faster and widely used.
Traits Computation (simplified)
A web service for the calculation of phytoplankton traits, such as biovolume, surface area, surface-to-volume ratio, density, cell carbon content, total biovolume, and total carbon content.
Traits Computation
The standard code for the country in which the location occurs.
Country Code
countryCode
An identifier for the set of information associated with a event (something that occurs at a place and time). May be a global unique identifier or an identifier specific to the data set.
Event ID
eventID
The linear distance from the edge of the valve face to the base of the mantle, usually expressed in micrometers (µm).
Mantle height
The side wall of a diatom valve, connecting the valve face to the girdle (cingulum). The mantle often bears striae or areolae and is important in species identification.
Mantle
mantle (phytoplankton)
Orientation of a phytoplankton cell observed from the side opposite to a main groove or sulcus (general orientation term).
Dorsal view
Concentration or amount of mercury.
Mercury
A dominance index that measures the proportional contribution of the most abundant species to the total community abundance.
McNaughton Dominance
The authorship information for the scientificName formatted according to the conventions of the applicable nomenclaturalCode.
Scientific Name Authorship
scientifcNameAuthorship
A diversity index that measures the probability that two randomly selected individuals belong to the same species.
Simpson Index
Orientation of a phytoplankton cell seen from the side, without emphasis on grooves or transverse bands.
Lateral view
An evenness index derived from the Shannon index that measures how evenly individuals are distributed among species in a community.
Sheldon Evenness
A species richness index that relates the number of species to the square root of total abundance.
Menhinick Index
Comments or notes about the taxon or name.
Taxon Remarks
taxonRemarks
An advanced computation method for the Trait Computation web service that uses species-specific geometric models and multiple measured dimensions (e.g., a, b, h) to compute biovolume and/or surface area.
Traits Computation (advanced)
Gas-filled intracellular structures (also referred to as gas vesicles) found in certain aquatic microorganisms, particularly cyanobacteria. They provide buoyancy regulation, allowing cells to adjust their vertical position in the water column.
Aerotopes
A web service to create a community matrix (usually rows = samples, columns = taxa/species) , from the input data file for each taxonomic, spatial and temporal level selected, based on the trait density, carbon content, biovolume.
Community Matrix
Size-fractionated phytoplankton biomass for picoplankton.
Chlorophyll Picoplankton
Chl pico
The full scientific name of the subgenus in which the taxon is classified.
Subgenus
subgenus
A web service to calculate size - abundance relationships at local, regional or global scale.
Size Density Relationship
Cingular plates are the thecal plates forming the cingulum, the equatorial groove that encircles the cell and separates the epitheca from the hypotheca.
Cingular plates
Identifier assigned to a specific sampling event by a cruise.
Cruise
The anterior (upper) portion of a dinoflagellate cell above the cingulum.
Epicone
A season is a recurring period within a year characterized by consistent environmental, climatic, or biological conditions, such as changes in temperature, precipitation, or photoperiod.
Season
Plate-like bands that make up the cingulum in dinoflagellates, forming its structural elements.
Cingular bands
Precingular plates are the thecal plates located immediately below the apical plates and above the cingulum.
Precingular plates
Refers to algae that grow attached to substrates (such as rocks, sediments, or plants) but are not firmly fixed, forming loose mats or layers that can detach and float in the water
Metaphytic
The lower or posterior half of a phytoplankton cell covering, typically the smaller portion that fits into the epitheca. Lower part of frustule.
Hypotheca
In dinoflagellate morphology, para , meta and ortho are terms used to describe the cell shape based on the relative displacement of the epitheca and hypotheca along the longitudinal axis. In PARA shape, epitheca and hypotheca are aligned, giving the cell a symmetrical appearance.
Para shape
Comments or notes accompanying the MeasurementOrFact.
Measurement Remarks
measurementRemarks
The area of the sedimentation chamber is the bottom surface area of the counting chamber over which particles or organisms settle during sedimentation prior to microscopic examination.
Area of Sedimentation Chamber
The straight-line distance across the circular sedimentation counting chamber. Used to calculate the chamber’s total area when circular (Area = π × radius²).
Diameter of Sedimentation Chamber
All of the processes used by organisms to generate metabolically usable energy, chieﬂy in the form of ATP, from the oxidative breakdown of foodstuffs. May refer to processes ranging from the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between organism and environ­ment, to the biochemical processes gen­erating ATP at the cellular level. a. respiratory, pert. or involved in re­spiration. see also aerobic respiration, anaerobic respiration, glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation.
Respiration
Statistical or computational model designed to estimate or predict the value of a response variable for new or future observations based on the relationship between one or more predictor (independent) variables and the outcome.
Previsional Model
The full name, with authorship and date information if known, of the currently valid (zoological) or accepted (botanical) taxon.
Accepted Name Usage
acceptedNameUsage
unit of measure
An organism growing on the surface of rocks or other hard inorganic or organic substrata.
Epilithic
Lincoln, R.J., Boxshall, G.A., Clark, P.F., 1998. Dictionary of ecology, evolution and systematics. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Organism not known to produce or accumulate harmful biochemical compounds.
Non toxic
An organism lacking cellulose thecal plates.
Amphidinium, Gymnodinium, Gyrodinium, Karlodinium, Karenia.
Athecate
The number of areolae counted within a 10 µm section along a diatom girdle band (part of the cingulum).
Areolae (bands) in 10µm
The number of areolae counted within a 10 µm section of the valve face.
Areolae in 10µm
The number of costae counted along a 10 µm section of the frustule, used as a diagnostic morphometric character in diatom taxonomy.
Costae in 10 µm
Thickened, rib-like silica structures on the frustule of certain diatoms, usually alternating with striae, providing support and rigidity.
Costae
The spectral range of solar radiation from 400 to 700 nanometers that organisms are able to use for photosynthesis.
Photosynthetically Active Radiation
PAR
An organism growing on the surface of a living plant but not parasitic upon it.
Epiphytic
Epiphyte
Epiphytes
McLeod, C.R., 1996. Glossary of marine ecological terms, acronyms and abbreviations used in MNCR work. In: Marine Nature Conservation Review: Rationale and methods, (ed. K. Hiscock), pp 93-117. Peterborough: Joint Nature Conservation Committee.
The dimension of the lorica, measured perpendicular to its length, usually expressed in micrometers (µm).
Lorica width
Width of lorica
A protective external covering or shell secreted by some unicellular organisms.
Lorica
The shortest linear dimension of a cell, measured perpendicular to its length, from end to end along the shortest axis of the cell.
Cell width
Cellular width
The linear distance across a auxospore measured through its center.
Auxospore diameter
Diameter of auxospore
Specialized cell formed during the sexual reproduction of diatoms. Auxospores restore the maximum cell size of the lineage, which progressively decreases during successive vegetative divisions. The auxospore expands and develops into a new frustule, re-establishing the original size range of the species.
Auxospore
Organism able to produce or accumulate toxins that can negatively affect other organisms.
Toxic
The linear dimension of an akinete measured along its longest axis.
Akinete length
Length of akinete
A single-celled, thick-walled, non-motile spore derived from vegetative cell of filamentous, heterocyst-forming cyanobacteria (orders Nostocales and Stigonematales). Akinetes are typically larger than vegetative cells, withstand environmental extremes such as cold and desiccation, and germinate when conditions improve.
Akinete
The total distance from point to point along the longest axis of a cell.
Cell length
Cellular length
An organism that can obtain energy and nutrients through both autotrophic (self-feeding) and heterotrophic (consuming other organisms) methods.
Mixotroph
Feeding by engulfing a food cell or particle and ingesting it in a phagocytic vacuoles. Heterotrophic feeding mode in some dinoflagellates (e.i.Gyrodinium spirale).
Phagotrophic feeding
Diatoms in which both valves possess a raphe. These are typically motile diatoms, capable of gliding locomotion along surfaces.
Biraphid
The linear dimension of an akinete measured perpendicular to its longest axis, usually expressed in micrometers (µm).
Akinete width
Width of akinete
The number of areolae (pores) counted within a 10 µm section along the margin of a diatom valve.
Marginal areolae in 10 µm
The number of fibulae (silica cross-struts supporting the raphe canal) counted within a 10 µm section along the valve margin of a diatom. This morphometric feature is widely used as a diagnostic character in the taxonomy of genera such as Nitzschia and related taxa.
Fibulae in 10 µm
The series of thickened silica cross-struts that support the raphe canal in certain diatoms.
Fibulae
fibula
The linear distance measured across a coccolith (calcium carbonate plate of coccolithophores), usually expressed in micrometers (µm). It is a key morphometric character for identifying and classifying coccolithophore species.
Coccolith Diameter
Linear dimension of the lorica measured along its longitudinal axis,usually expressed in micrometers (µm).
Lorica length
Length of lorica
The number of areolae counted within a 10 µm section along the lateral (side) areas of a diatom valve.
Lateral areolae in 10 µm
Diatoms that entirely lack a raphe. These forms are generally non-motile.
Araphid
The linear distance across a heterocyst measured through its center.
Heterocysts diameter
Diameter of heterocysts
A specialized, thick-walled cell formed by certain filamentous cyanobacteria, whose primary function is biological nitrogen fixation.
Heterocyst
The production and emission of light by a living organism. Bioluminescence is strongly related to intraspecific communication, such as mate finding,or predator–prey interactions.
Bioluminescence
The linear dimension of a coccolith measured perpendicular to its length (the shorter axis), usually expressed in micrometers (µm).
Coccolith Width
The thickness or vertical dimension of a coccolith (its three-dimensional relief), usually expressed in micrometers (µm).
Coccolith height
The cross-sectional diameter or thickness of a trichome, measured perpendicular to its longitudinal axis.
Trichome width
Chain or filaments of connected cells forming part of a colonial or filamentous structure.
Trichome
An organism growing or living on mud (sediments, clays, and silt), residing at the interface of water and sediment.
Epipelic
Dodds, W.K. and Whiles, M.R. (2010) Concepts of Ecology: Concepts and Environmental Applications of Limnology. Second Edition. Elsevier Inc. 829 pp.
The number of areolae counted within a 10 µm section along the mantle (side wall) of a diatom valve.
Areolae (mantle) in 10µm
An organism that is unable of making organic molecules from inorganic sources of carbon and relies on the consumption of organic molecules synthesized by other organisms.
Heterotroph
Heterotrophic
Heterotrophs
heterotrophic organisms
The linear dimension of a coccolith measured along its longest axis, expressed in micrometers (µm).
Coccolith Length
An organism that consists of only one cell.
Unicellular
Single-Cell Organism
Single-cell
Solitary
The number of areolae counted in a 10 µm section located between the central and apical areas of a diatom valve.
Intermediate areolae in 10µm
An evenness measure based on the relationship between observed diversity and maximum possible diversity.
Ludwig-Reynolds Evenness
Concentration of ammonium per unit volume of a river, estuary, sea or ocean by any method in filtered or unfiltered water.
Water body ammonium
Ammonium
The speed of air relative to the ground or sea surface.
Wind speed
Variables associated with the determination of the air temperature near the Earth's surface.
Air Temperature
Température de l'air