Marine picoplankton Targeted Locus (Loci)

Investigation of marine eukaryotic picoplankton composition is limited by missing morphological features for appropriate identification. Consequently, molecular methods are required. In this study, we used 454-pyrosequencing to study picoplankton communities at four stations in the West Spitsbergen Current (WSC; Fram Strait). This observation is particularly interesting in regard to ongoing environmental changes in the Arctic. Ongoing warming of the WSC could convey a new picoplankton assemblage into the Arctic Ocean, which may come to affect the dominance of Micromonas pusilla.