TY - JOUR
T1 - The immeasurable value of plankton to humanity
AU - Grigoratou, Maria
AU - Menden-Deuer, Susanne
AU - McQuatters-Gollop, Abigail
AU - Arhonditsis, George
AU - Artigas, Luis Felipe
AU - Ayata, Sakina-Dorothée
AU - Bedikoğlu, Dalida
AU - Beisner, Beatrix E
AU - Chen, Bingzhang
AU - Davies, Claire
AU - Diarra, Lillian
AU - Elegbeleye, Owoyemi W
AU - Everett, Jason D
AU - Garcia, Tatiane M
AU - Gentleman, Wendy C
AU - Gonçalves, Rodrigo Javier
AU - Guy-Haim, Tamar
AU - Halfter, Svenja
AU - Hinners, Jana
AU - Horaeb, Richard R
AU - Huggett, Jenny A
AU - Johnson, Catherine L
AU - Kavanaugh, Maria T
AU - Lara-Lopez, Ana
AU - Lindemann, Christian
AU - López-Abbate, Celeste
AU - Messié, Monique
AU - Möller, Klas Ove
AU - Montes, Enrique
AU - Muller-Karger, Frank E
AU - Neeley, Aimee
AU - Olaleye, Yusuf
AU - Palacz, Artur P
AU - Poulton, Alex J
AU - Prowe, A E Friederike
AU - Ratnarajah, Lavenia
AU - Rodríguez, Luzmila
AU - Rodríguez-Flórez, Clara Natalia
AU - Rodriquez-Santiago, Aurea
AU - Rousseaux, Cecile S
AU - Saad, Juan Francisco
AU - Santi, Ioulia
AU - Soccodato, Alice
AU - Stern, Rowena
AU - Våge, Selina
AU - Varkitzi, Ioanna
AU - Richardson, Anthony
PY - 2025/9/1
Y1 - 2025/9/1
N2 - Plankton, a diverse group of aquatic organisms, make Earth livable, regulate aquatic life, and provide benefits to human societies such as access to clean water, food security, and well-being. They also support economies and inspire biotechnological innovations. This article aims to raise awareness of the value of plankton to humanity and serves as an informative guide for aquatic professionals, policymakers, and anyone interested in plankton. We present the value of plankton across six themes of human interest: biogeochemistry; ecology; climate; the evolution of science; economy; and culture, recreation, and well-being. Guided by the 2022 Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services values assessment, we introduce the six themes under the Life Framework of Values to offer a comprehensive summary of the significance of plankton to humanity. In addition, we provide examples of plankton variables used in policy frameworks and recommendations for enhancing understanding of their value through long-term sustainable research and monitoring.
AB - Plankton, a diverse group of aquatic organisms, make Earth livable, regulate aquatic life, and provide benefits to human societies such as access to clean water, food security, and well-being. They also support economies and inspire biotechnological innovations. This article aims to raise awareness of the value of plankton to humanity and serves as an informative guide for aquatic professionals, policymakers, and anyone interested in plankton. We present the value of plankton across six themes of human interest: biogeochemistry; ecology; climate; the evolution of science; economy; and culture, recreation, and well-being. Guided by the 2022 Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services values assessment, we introduce the six themes under the Life Framework of Values to offer a comprehensive summary of the significance of plankton to humanity. In addition, we provide examples of plankton variables used in policy frameworks and recommendations for enhancing understanding of their value through long-term sustainable research and monitoring.
KW - biodiversity
KW - biogeochemistry
KW - climate
KW - ecology
KW - policy
UR - https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaf049
UR - https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/bms-research/2239/
U2 - 10.1093/biosci/biaf049
DO - 10.1093/biosci/biaf049
M3 - Article
SN - 0006-3568
VL - 75
SP - 706
EP - 721
JO - BioScience
JF - BioScience
IS - 9
M1 - biaf049
ER -
