“It is known that highly biodiverse diatom communities are very efficient in producing oxygen” says Professor Janne Soininen from University of Helsinki.
“It is known that highly biodiverse diatom communities are very efficient in producing oxygen” says Professor Janne Soininen from University of Helsinki.
“Islands have long been considered natural laboratories as they comprise a unique environment for living organisms and contribute strongly to global biodiversity, usually being biodiversity hotspots” says Ramiro Martín-Devasa, postdoctoral researcher at the Aquatic Community Ecology group at the University of Helsinki. He is the first author of a recent research article about diatom biodiversity on islands, published in the journal Global Ecology and Biogeography.
They found that if island is very distant, diatom biodiversity is lower than on islands nearby the continents. Lower biodiversity may decrease the oxygen production of diatoms.
Read more at: University of Helsinki
Streams are interesting aquatic systems that harbour diverse life forms, from fishes or insects to microbes. This stream in Majorca is one of the places where the samples were collected. (Photo Credit: Bryan Kennedy)
