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MotivationThe BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community‐led open‐source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the Anthropocene.Main types of variables includedThe database contains 8,777,413 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled for a minimum of 2 years, which need not necessarily be consecutive. In addition, the database contains metadata relating to sampling methodology and contextual information about each record.Spatial location and grainBioTIME is a global database of 547,161 unique sampling locations spanning the marine, freshwater and terrestrial realms. Grain size varies across datasets from 0.0000000158 km2 (158 cm2) to 100 km2 (1,000,000,000,000 cm2).Time period and grainBioTIME records span from 1874 to 2016. The minimal temporal grain across all datasets in BioTIME is a year.Major taxa and level of measurementBioTIME includes data from 44,440 species across the plant and animal kingdoms, ranging from plants, plankton and terrestrial invertebrates to small and large vertebrates.Software format.csv and .SQL.

Macroalgae drive the largest CO2 flux fixed globally by marine macrophytes. Most of the resulting biomass is exported through the coastal ocean as detritus and yet almost no field measurements have verified its potential net sequestration in marine sediments. This gap limits the scope for the inclusion of macroalgae within blue carbon schemes that support ocean carbon sequestration globally, and the understanding of the role their carbon plays within distal food webs. Here, we pursued three lines of evidence (eDNA sequencing, Bayesian Stable Isotope Mixing Modeling, and benthic‐pelagic process measurements) to generate needed, novel data addressing this gap. To this end, a 13‐month study was undertaken at a deep coastal sedimentary site in the English Channel, and the surrounding shoreline of Plymouth, UK. The eDNA sequencing indicated that detritus from most macroalgae in surrounding shores occurs within deep, coastal sediments, with detritus supply reflecting the seasonal ecology of individual species. Bayesian stable isotope mixing modeling [C and N] highlighted its vital role in supporting the deep coastal benthic food web (22–36% of diets), especially when other resources are seasonally low. The magnitude of detritus uptake within the food web and sediments varies seasonally, with an average net sedimentary organic macroalgal carbon sequestration of 8.75 g C·m−2·yr−1. The average net sequestration of particulate organic carbon in sediments is 58.74 g C·m−2·yr−1, the two rates corresponding to 4–5% and 26–37% of those associated with mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrass beds, systems more readily identified as blue carbon habitats. These novel data provide important first estimates that help to contextualize the importance of macroalgal‐sedimentary connectivity for deep coastal food webs, and measured fluxes help constrain its role within global blue carbon that can support policy development. At a time when climate change mitigation is at the foreground of environmental policy development, embracing the full potential of the ocean in supporting climate regulation via CO2 sequestration is a necessity.

Abstract. Phytoplankton identification and abundance data are now commonly feeding plankton distribution databases worldwide. This study is a first attempt to compile the largest possible body of data available from different databases as well as from individual published or unpublished datasets regarding diatom distribution in the world ocean. The data obtained originate from time series studies as well as spatial studies. This effort is supported by the Marine EcosystemPublished by Copernicus Publications. K. Leblanc et al.: A global diatom databaseModel Inter-Comparison Project (MAREMIP), which aims at building consistent datasets for the main plankton functional types (PFTs) in order to help validate biogeochemical ocean models by using carbon (C) biomass derived from abundance data. In this study we collected over 293 000 individual geo-referenced data points with diatom abundances from bottle and net sampling. Sampling site distribution was not homogeneous, with 58 % of data in the Atlantic, 20 % in the Arctic, 12 % in the Pacific, 8 % in the Indian and 1 % in the Southern Ocean. A total of 136 different genera and 607 different species were identified after spell checking and name correction. Only a small fraction of these data were also documented for biovolumes and an even smaller fraction was converted to C biomass. As it is virtually impossible to reconstruct everyone's method for biovolume calculation, which is usually not indicated in the datasets, we decided to undertake the effort to document, for every distinct species, the minimum and maximum cell dimensions, and to convert all the available abundance data into biovolumes and C biomass using a single standardized method. Statistical correction of the database was also adopted to exclude potential outliers and suspicious data points. The final database contains 90 648 data points with converted C biomass. Diatom C biomass calculated from cell sizes spans over eight orders of magnitude. The mean diatom biomass for individual locations, dates and depths is 141.19 µg C l −1 , while the median value is 11.16 µg C l −1 . Regarding biomass distribution, 19 % of data are in the range 0-1 µg C l −1 , 29 % in the range 1-10 µg C l −1 , 31 % in the range 10-100 µg C l −1 , 18 % in the range 100-1000 µg C l −1 , and only 3 % > 1000 µg C l −1 . Interestingly, less than 50 species contributed to >90% of global biomass, among which centric species were dominant. Thus, placing significant efforts on cell size measurements, process studies and C quota calculations of these species should considerably improve biomass estimates in the upcoming years. A first-order estimate of the diatom biomass for the global ocean ranges from 444 to 582 Tg C, which converts to 3 to 4 Tmol Si and to an average Si biomass turnover rate of 0.15 to 0.19 d −1 . Link to the dataset:

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Abstract. Coccolithophores are calcifying marine phytoplankton of the class Prymnesiophyceae. They are considered to play an import role in the global carbon cycle through the production and export of organic carbon and calcite. We have compiled observations of global coccolithophore abundance from several existing databases as well as individual contributions of published and unpublished datasets. We make conservative estimates of carbon biomass using standardised conversion methods and provide estimates of uncertainty associated with these values. The quality-controlled database contains 57 321 individual observations at various taxonomic levels. This corresponds to 11 503 observations of total coccolithophore abundance and biomass. • S, with declines towards both the equator and the poles. Biomass estimates between the equator and 40•

Dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP) synthesised by phytoplankton is the principal precursor of the climatically active gas dimethyl sulphide (DMS). The rates of production of particulate DMSP (DMSPp) and turnover by microzooplankton were determined in surface waters of the northern North Sea, using a dilution approach. The phytoplankton communities were characterised by DMSPrich taxa including Emiliania huxleyi and Prorocentrum minimum and DMSPp:chlorophyll a (chl a) ratios of 64 to 162 nM µg -1 . Microzooplankton biomass varied from 25.5 to 56.7 µg C l -1 and was dominated by oligotrich ciliates and heterotrophic dinoflagellates. DMSPp production rates ranged from 14.8 to 45.6 nM d -1 and represent a doubling time of the ambient DMSPp pool of between 1.2 and 3.1 d. Consumption rates of DMSPp by microzooplankton varied between 11.4 and 59.9 nM d -1 and were equivalent to turnover rates of the ambient DMSPp pool of between 16 and 43% d -1 . In general, production rates of DMSPp were lower than those of chl a and E. huxleyi, with respective mean doubling times of 1.9, 1.5 and 1.3 d. Loss rates due to grazing were similar for DMSPp and E. huxleyi but generally significantly lower than those of the bulk phytoplankton, with mean turnover rates of 31, 30 and 40% d -1 of the standing stock of DMSPp, E. huxleyi and chl a, respectively. E. huxleyi contributed an estimated 2 to 25% of the total DMSPp production and 6 to 23% of the DMSPp ingested by microzooplankton, indicating the importance of other phytoplankton to DMSPp dynamics in 'E. huxleyi blooms'. At the depths sampled, DMSPp production was closely coupled to primary production and was equivalent to approximately 11% of the carbon fixation. DMSPp may be an important component of the diets of microzooplankton. Ingested DMSPp could have provided 2 to 3% of the microzooplankton carbon demand and 26 to 44% of their sulphur demand. DMSPp production and turnover rates were closely matched and suggest that in these waters microzooplankton grazing may be the principal determinant of the fate of DMSPp. The quantity of 'DMSP' excreted by microzooplankton, calculated from ingestion rates, biomass and assumed growth rates and growth efficiencies, ranged from 8.0 to 41.9 nM d

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