Breakfast Lecture Series: The Future of Phytoplankton in a Changing Climate by Katherine Mackey

Recorded on April 19, 2016

Professor Kate Mackey studies the fascinating organisms known to be the base of the aquatic food chain - phytoplankton. While their numbers are vast, they are quite sensitive to changes in temperature, acidity, and nutrient levels in the ocean. When sea surface temperatures rise as a result of global warming or El Niño, there is less upwelling of the nutrient-rich water that feeds these creatures, and ocean acidification from carbon dioxide emissions threatens certain species while favoring others. Disturbing phytoplankton’s natural environment threatens the entire animal food chain. Come learn about Dr. Mackey’s latest findings.

[accorddeparis]

The ignorance of 7 billion on how important your studies are relating to nutrients, fisheries and oxygen is evident in the lack of comments and views. We're way behind the curve, and sadly Mother Nature's schedule of events has little mercy for our ignorance.

[dejayrezme]

Could we introduce phytoplankton that transform and sequesters CO2? In some form that is not bioavailable and usable for other organisms, but just lets it sink to the bottom and sequesters it?
Or is that a pipedream?

[paxwallacejazz]

Phytoplankton dies so do we. Acidification, loss of oxygen content, plastic. Since the 50s we've lost 40% of our planets phytoplankton over all.