Advances in Earth Science ›› 2010, Vol. 25 ›› Issue (9): 981-989. doi: 10.11867/j.issn.1001-8166.2010.09.0981

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Applications of Biomarkers for Reconstructing Phytoplankton Productivity and Community Structure Changes

Ding Ling, Xing Lei, Zhao Meixun *   

  1. 1.Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China;
    2. Insititute of Marine Organic Geochemistry,Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
  • Received:2010-01-25 Revised:2010-05-05 Online:2010-09-10 Published:2010-09-10

Ding Ling, Xing Lei, Zhao Meixun. Applications of Biomarkers for Reconstructing Phytoplankton Productivity and Community Structure Changes[J]. Advances in Earth Science, 2010, 25(9): 981-989.

Revealing variations for phytoplankton productivity and community structure is important for understanding ocean carbon change mechanisms. Variations of biomarker contents and ratios have been successfully used in reconstructing phytoplankton productivity and community structure changes. Reviews of applications of muti-biomarker approach in the open ocean and China′s marginal seas suggest that the two major uncertainties associated with cellular contents of biomarkers and preservation efficiency of different biomarkers in the environments have limited the application of biomarkers to the semiquantitative reconstruction of paleoproductivity and community structure changes. It is suggested that, in order to more accurately estimate paleoecosystem changes, future research needs  establishing the quantitative formula between biomarker content and productivity, and between biomarker ratios and community structure, by use of in-situ data and algal culture experiments.

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