The Evolution of Modern Eukaryotic Phytoplankton Export

@article{citeulike:320068, abstract = {The community structure and ecological function of contemporary marine ecosystems are critically dependent on eukaryotic phytoplankton. Although numerically inferior to cyanobacteria, these organisms are responsible for the majority of the flux of organic matter to higher trophic levels and the ocean interior. Photosynthetic eukaryotes evolved more than 1.5 billion years ago in the Proterozoic oceans. However, it was not until the Mesozoic Era (251 to 65 million years ago) that the three principal phytoplankton clades that would come to dominate the modern seas rose to ecological prominence. In contrast to their pioneering predecessors, the dinoflagellates, coccolithophores, and diatoms all contain plastids derived from an ancestral red alga by secondary symbiosis. Here we examine the geological, geochemical, and biological processes that contributed to the rise of these three, distantly related, phytoplankton groups.}, author = {Falkowski, Paul G. and Katz, Miriam E. and Knoll, Andrew H. and Quigg, Antonietta and Raven, John A. and Schofield, Oscar and Taylor, F. J. R.}, citeulike-article-id = {320068}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1095964}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/305/5682/354}, day = {16}, doi = {10.1126/science.1095964}, journal = {Science}, keywords = {evolution, geologic, phytoplankton, set}, month = {July}, number = {5682}, pages = {354--360}, posted-at = {2005-09-14 18:16:03}, priority = {2}, title = {The Evolution of Modern Eukaryotic Phytoplankton}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1095964}, volume = {305}, year = {2004} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:320068 L3 - citeulike-article-id:320068 N2 - The community structure and ecological function of contemporary marine ecosystems are critically dependent on eukaryotic phytoplankton. Although numerically inferior to cyanobacteria, these organisms are responsible for the majority of the flux of organic matter to higher trophic levels and the ocean interior. Photosynthetic eukaryotes evolved more than 1.5 billion years ago in the Proterozoic oceans. However, it was not until the Mesozoic Era (251 to 65 million years ago) that the three principal phytoplankton clades that would come to dominate the modern seas rose to ecological prominence. In contrast to their pioneering predecessors, the dinoflagellates, coccolithophores, and diatoms all contain plastids derived from an ancestral red alga by secondary symbiosis. Here we examine the geological, geochemical, and biological processes that contributed to the rise of these three, distantly related, phytoplankton groups. IS - 5682 JF - Science EP - 360 TI - The Evolution of Modern Eukaryotic Phytoplankton VL - 305 SP - 354 KW - evolution KW - geologic KW - phytoplankton KW - set AU - Falkowski, Paul AU - Katz, Miriam AU - Knoll, Andrew AU - Quigg, Antonietta AU - Raven, John AU - Schofield, Oscar AU - Taylor, FJR PY - 2004/07/16/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1095964 ER -