Emiliania huxleyi

Emiliania huxleyi is a species of unicellular, eukaryotic phytoplankton, (also known as a coccolithophore), and is found in nearly all oceanic ecosystems outside of polar regions. [1] Named after Thomas Henry Huxley, Emiliania huxleyi, (also abbreviated Ehux) plays an important role in all ecosystems in which it is found.

Scientific interest in Ehux

Emiliania huxleyi is tremendously successful at converting inorganic carbon into products used in photosynthesis and biomineralization. [2] E. huxleyi, like many other phytoplankton, is very important to the ecosystems it inhabits. Blooms of Ehux can be seen as large turquoise patches in the water through satellite imagery, covering hundreds of thousands of square meters of ocean. [2]

An E. huxleyi bloom viewed from space. Photo courtesy of NASA.

References

[1] Winter, Amos, et al. “Poleward Expansion of the Coccolithophore Emiliania Huxleyi.” Journal of Plankton Research, vol. 36, no. 2, 2013, pp. 316–325., doi:10.1093/plankt/fbt110. [2] Read, Betsy A., et al. “Pan Genome of the Phytoplankton Emiliania Underpins Its Global Distribution.” Nature, vol. 499, no. 7457, Dec. 2013, pp. 209–213., doi:10.1038/nature12221.