Marine phytoplankton are believed to account for more than 45% of photosynthetic net primary production on Earth, and hence are at the base of marine food webs and have an enormous impact on the entire Earth system. Their members are found across many of the major clades of the tree of life, including bacteria (cyanobacteria) and multiple eukaryotic lineages that acquired photosynthesis through the process of endosymbiosis. Our understanding of their distribution in marine ecosystems and their contribution to biogeochemical cycles have increased since they were first described in the 18th century. Here, we review historical milestones in marine phytoplankton research and how their roles were gradually understood, with a particular focus on insights derived from large-scale ocean exploration. We start from the first observations made by explorers and naturalists, review the initial identification of the main phytoplankton groups and the appreciation of their function in the influential Kiel and Plymouth schools that established biological oceanography, to finally outline the contribution of modern large-scale initiatives to understand this fundamental biological component of the ocean.

中文翻译：

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海洋浮游植物探索：从其历史欣赏到组学时代

据认为，海洋浮游植物占地球光合作用净初级生产力的45％以上，因此是海洋食物网的基础，对整个地球系统具有巨大影响。它们的成员遍布于生命树的许多主要分支中，包括细菌（蓝细菌）和通过内共生过程获得光合作用的多个真核世系。自从18世纪首次对它们进行描述以来，我们对它们在海洋生态系统中的分布及其对生物地球化学循环的贡献的了解有所增加。在这里，我们回顾了海洋浮游植物研究中的历史性里程碑以及如何逐步理解其作用，尤其着重于从大规模海洋探索中得出的见解。