 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (April 2012) |
| Gephyrocapsa huxleyi | |
|---|---|
| |
| A scanning electron micrograph of a single G. huxleyi cell | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Clade: | Diaphoretickes |
| Phylum: | Haptista |
| Subphylum: | Haptophytina |
| Class: | Coccolithophyceae |
| Order: | Isochrysidales |
| Family: | Noelaerhabdaceae |
| Genus: | Gephyrocapsa |
| Species: | G. huxleyi
|
| Binomial name | |
| Gephyrocapsa huxleyi | |
| Synonyms[2][3] | |
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Gephyrocapsa huxleyi, formerly called Emiliania huxleyi, is a species of coccolithophore found in almost all ocean ecosystems from the equator to sub-polar regions, and from nutrient rich upwelling zones to nutrient poor oligotrophic waters.[4][5][6][7] It is one of thousands of different photosynthetic plankton that freely drift in the photic zone of the ocean, forming the basis of virtually all marine food webs. It is studied for the extensive blooms it forms in nutrient-depleted waters after the reformation of the summer thermocline. Like other coccolithophores, E. huxleyi is a single-celled phytoplankton covered with uniquely ornamented calcite disks called coccoliths. Individual coccoliths are abundant in marine sediments although complete coccospheres are more unusual. In the case of E. huxleyi, not only the shell, but also the soft part of the organism may be recorded in sediments. It produces a group of chemical compounds that are very resistant to decomposition. These chemical compounds, known as alkenones, can be found in marine sediments long after other soft parts of the organisms have decomposed. Alkenones are most commonly used by earth scientists as a means to estimate past sea surface temperatures.
- ^ Reinhardt, P. (1972). Coccolithen. Kalkiges Plankton seit Jahrmillionen. Die neue Brehm Bücheri Vol. 453. pp. 1–99, 188 figures. Wittenberg Lutherstadt: A. Ziemsen Verlag
- ^ M.D. Guiry in Guiry, M.D. & Guiry, G.M. 15 November 2023. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. https://www.algaebase.org/search/species/detail/?species_id=70636 ; searched on 16 June 2024
- ^ Guiry, M.D. & Guiry, G.M. (2024). AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway (taxonomic information republished from AlgaeBase with permission of M.D. Guiry). Gephyrocapsa huxleyi (Lohmann) P.Reinhardt, 1972. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=236056 Archived 4 August 2023 at the Wayback Machine on 16 June 2024
- ^ Okada, Hisatake (1973). "The distribution of oceanic coccolithophorids in the Pacific". Deep Sea Research and Oceanographic Abstracts. 20 (4): 355–374. Bibcode:1973DSRA...20..355O. doi:10.1016/0011-7471(73)90059-4.
- ^ Charalampopoulou, Anastasia (2011) Coccolithophores in high latitude and Polar regions: Relationships between community composition, calcification and environmental factors University of Southampton, School of Ocean and Earth Science, Doctoral Thesis, 139pp.
- ^ McIntyre, Andrew (1967). "Modern coccolithophoridae of the atlantic ocean—I. Placoliths and cyrtoliths". Deep Sea Research and Oceanographic Abstracts. 14 (5): 561–597. Bibcode:1967DSRA...14..561M. doi:10.1016/0011-7471(67)90065-4.
- ^ Boeckel, Babette; Baumann, Karl-Heinz (1 May 2008). "Vertical and lateral variations in coccolithophore community structure across the subtropical frontal zone in the South Atlantic Ocean". Marine Micropaleontology. 67 (3–4): 255–273. Bibcode:2008MarMP..67..255B. doi:10.1016/j.marmicro.2008.01.014.