Diatoms of North AmericaMarine planktonic diatoms from the Mexican Pacific: a journey through their diversity and ecology
Description: Our knowledge about phytoplankton diversity and ecology along littorals of the Mexican Pacific Ocean is still in progress. Diatoms are one of the main taxonomic groups being studied. New techniques, methods, approaches (e.g. molecular tools, technological advances), and concepts and paradigms (e.g. cryptic species, evolutionary strategies) are in current use and should be considered to estimate the present diversity of the marine planktonic diatoms in the Mexican Pacific. Detailed studies on certain species, either from fixed samples or cultures, are revised in this paper. Diverse genera such as Chaetoceros, Minidiscus, Nanoneis, Nitzschia, Pseudo-nitzschia, Rhizosolenia, Skeletonema and Thalassiosira, as well of members of the family Thalassionemataceae provide examples of a large and yet not completely known diversity and a complex ecology. New species and new records of planktonic diatoms for the Mexican Pacific have been recognized, thus indicating a significant reevaluation of the real diversity of the marine phytoplankton. Tropical, subtropical, temperate and more cosmopolitan planktonic diatom floras have been recognized and they fluctuate and have intergrades according climatic or oceanographic events.
Intended audience: This talk is intended for beginners or more specialized audience, as well as for the general public.
