The immeasurable value of plankton to humanity

Maria Grigoratou; Susanne Menden-Deuer; Abigail McQuatters-Gollop; George Arhonditsis; Luis Felipe Artigas; Sakina-Dorothée Ayata; Dalida Bedikoğlu; Beatrix E Beisner; Bingzhang Chen; Claire Davies; Lillian Diarra; Owoyemi W Elegbeleye; Jason D Everett; Tatiane M Garcia; Wendy C Gentleman; Rodrigo Javier Gonçalves; Tamar Guy-Haim; Svenja Halfter; Jana Hinners; Richard R Horaeb; Jenny A Huggett; Catherine L Johnson; Maria T Kavanaugh; Ana Lara-Lopez; Christian Lindemann; Celeste López-Abbate; Monique Messié; Klas Ove Möller; Enrique Montes; Frank E Muller-Karger; Aimee Neeley; Yusuf Olaleye; Artur P Palacz; Alex J Poulton; A E Friederike Prowe; Lavenia Ratnarajah; Luzmila Rodríguez; Clara Natalia Rodríguez-Flórez; Aurea Rodriquez-Santiago; Cecile S Rousseaux; Juan Francisco Saad; Ioulia Santi; Alice Soccodato; Rowena Stern; Selina Våge; Ioanna Varkitzi; Anthony Richardson

doi:10.1093/biosci/biaf049

The immeasurable value of plankton to humanity

Maria Grigoratou
, Susanne Menden-Deuer
, Abigail McQuatters-Gollop
, George Arhonditsis
, Luis Felipe Artigas
, Sakina-Dorothée Ayata
, Dalida Bedikoğlu
, Beatrix E Beisner
, Bingzhang Chen
, Claire Davies
, Lillian Diarra
, Owoyemi W Elegbeleye
, Jason D Everett
, Tatiane M Garcia
, Wendy C Gentleman
, Rodrigo Javier Gonçalves
, Tamar Guy-Haim
, Svenja Halfter
, Jana Hinners
, Richard R Horaeb

Jenny A Huggett, Catherine L Johnson, Maria T Kavanaugh, Ana Lara-Lopez, Christian Lindemann, Celeste López-Abbate, Monique Messié, Klas Ove Möller, Enrique Montes, Frank E Muller-Karger, Aimee Neeley, Yusuf Olaleye, Artur P Palacz, Alex J Poulton, A E Friederike Prowe, Lavenia Ratnarajah, Luzmila Rodríguez, Clara Natalia Rodríguez-Flórez, Aurea Rodriquez-Santiago, Cecile S Rousseaux, Juan Francisco Saad, Ioulia Santi, Alice Soccodato, Rowena Stern, Selina Våge, Ioanna Varkitzi, Anthony Richardson

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

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.

Original language	English
Article number	biaf049
Pages (from-to)	706-721
Number of pages	16
Journal	BioScience
Volume	75
Issue number	9
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaf049
Publication status	Published - 1 Sept 2025

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 2 Zero Hunger
SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Keywords

biodiversity
biogeochemistry
climate
ecology
policy

Access to Document

10.1093/biosci/biaf049

biaf049Final published version, 2.09 MB

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Grigoratou, M., Menden-Deuer, S., McQuatters-Gollop, A., Arhonditsis, G., Artigas, L. F., Ayata, S.-D., Bedikoğlu, D., Beisner, B. E., Chen, B., Davies, C., Diarra, L., Elegbeleye, O. W., Everett, J. D., Garcia, T. M., Gentleman, W. C., Gonçalves, R. J., Guy-Haim, T., Halfter, S., Hinners, J., ... Richardson, A. (2025). The immeasurable value of plankton to humanity. BioScience, 75(9), 706-721. Article biaf049. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaf049

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abstract = "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.",

keywords = "biodiversity, biogeochemistry, climate, ecology, policy",

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year = "2025",

month = sep,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1093/biosci/biaf049",

language = "English",

volume = "75",

pages = "706--721",

journal = "BioScience",

issn = "0006-3568",

publisher = "Oxford University Press",

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}

Grigoratou, M, Menden-Deuer, S, McQuatters-Gollop, A, Arhonditsis, G, Artigas, LF, Ayata, S-D, Bedikoğlu, D, Beisner, BE, Chen, B, Davies, C, Diarra, L, Elegbeleye, OW, Everett, JD, Garcia, TM, Gentleman, WC, Gonçalves, RJ, Guy-Haim, T, Halfter, S, Hinners, J, Horaeb, RR, Huggett, JA, Johnson, CL, Kavanaugh, MT, Lara-Lopez, A, Lindemann, C, López-Abbate, C, Messié, M, Möller, KO, Montes, E, Muller-Karger, FE, Neeley, A, Olaleye, Y, Palacz, AP, Poulton, AJ, Prowe, AEF, Ratnarajah, L, Rodríguez, L, Rodríguez-Flórez, CN, Rodriquez-Santiago, A, Rousseaux, CS, Saad, JF, Santi, I, Soccodato, A, Stern, R, Våge, S, Varkitzi, I & Richardson, A 2025, 'The immeasurable value of plankton to humanity', BioScience, vol. 75, no. 9, biaf049, pp. 706-721. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaf049

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 -

The immeasurable value of plankton to humanity

Abstract

UN SDGs

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

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