Protistan plankton time series from the northern Salish Sea and central coast, British Columbia, Canada

The Hakai Institute Oceanography Program has been monitoring surface (0-1 or 5m depth) protistan plankton community composition, via optical microscopy, at multiple time series stations in the northern Salish Sea (Strait of Georgia) and central coast of British Columbia since 2016 and 2019, respectively. Data were collected to characterize and monitor phytoplankton community composition and investigate links to environmental drivers, the food web and carbon dynamics. Additionally, data were used to support group level phytoplankton composition derived via HPLC phytoplankton pigment analysis, compare with particulate organic matter fatty acid composition and validate remote sensing products.