GACS - Global Alliance of Continuous Plankton Recorder Surveys

Changes in marine dinoflagellate and diatom abundance under climate change

Imagine looking at your garden one morning and finding that the grass had suddenly been replaced by bushes. Far fetched ? You might think so, but changes of this magnitude have recently been reported in the biology of the North Atlantic with a dramatic switch in the prevalence of two groups of microscopic planktonic plants that lie at the base of the food chain....

Long-term changes in abundance and distribution of microzooplankton in the NE Atlantic and North Sea

The latest tintinnid (Ciliophora, Protista) data from the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey in the NE Atlantic and North Sea has been used to examine the phenology, distribution and abundance of this important group of ciliates. The presence of tintinnids in CPR samples collected in the North Atlantic has increased over the last 50 years and the seasonal window...

CPR detects the red-tide dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans in the Southern Ocean for the first time

Noctiluca scintillans is a red-tide forming, heterotrophic dinoflagellate that was found for the first time in the Southern Ocean (45°31´S 147°E) in December, 2010. The 'bloom' of Noctiluca extended over 242 km...

Welcome to GACS

Marine Phytoplankton (left) and Zooplankton (right)

GACS is short for the Global Alliance of Continuous Plankton Recorder Surveys, which is an international scientific partnership that was established in September 2011.

The goal of GACS is "to understand changes in plankton biodiversity at ocean basin scales through a global network of CPR surveys".

The GACS Partners in Plymouth, UK at the first GACS Workshop, 20-21 September 2011.

GACS has a number of specific aims, which include:

to develop a global Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) database
to produce a regular Ecological Status Report for global plankton biodiversity
to ensure that common standards and methodologies are maintained
to provide an interface for plankton biodiversity with other global ocean observation programmes
to set up and maintain a website for publicity and data access
to facilitate new CPR surveys and develop capacity building procedures
to facilitate secondments of CPR scientists between GACS institutions.

To learn more about GACS, the Continuous Plankton Recorder and its Partners, please, check out the About GACS pages, and if you have an enquiry or want to get in touch with GACS, please, see the Contact Us page.

This website is a work in progress and will be updated periodically.

Our partner organisations and stakeholders are listed below, click on a logo to visit their respective internet pages.