Beware of bad science reporting: No, we haven’t killed 90% of all plankton

It has been difficult to look at social media without seeing a report from the Sunday Post. The headline reads "Atlantic plankton all but wiped out incatastrophic loss of life" According to the article, a survey of plankton in the ocean shows that most of them have disappeared. Predicting the imminent collapse of our biosphere was the article's topic.

The article is not good.

The Sunday Post's source of a preprint manuscript is from the lead author of the survey.

Over the past 70 years, 50 percent of all marine life has been lost, and that number is rising, according to the study. The Post reported plankton counts from 13 ships with 500 data points.

The survey found an average of less than one piece of plankton in every 10 liters of water. plankton faces complete wipe-out sooner than anticipated.

The Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey collected 500 data points from 13 vessels, but the head of the survey describes it as a drop in the ocean. The Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey has been running for more than 50 years.

According to the Continuous Plankton Survey, there has been a loss of plankton over the years. As surface water warms, we have noticed long-term changes in plankton species, as well as seasonal changes. Evidence for marine policy is provided by a group of scientists. No one in the group agreed with the report and no one had heard of the guy.

The small sample size is not mentioned in the preprint. The number of zooplankton is likely to be lower if those samples were taken during the day. There is no mention of what magnification was being used. In warm open ocean Atlantic waters, a lot of the zooplankton is small, and they might have trouble picking them out with a low power microscope.

The paper that the Post based its article on has not been peer-reviewed is an apparent theme for the author. "It seems he doesn't have a scientific profile--none of his work seems to be peer reviewed, which is important when you are making any bold claims."

The man is making claims. Although he raises the very real problem of ocean acidification, he seems to blame the problem on microplastics and not climate change caused by a massive increase of atmospheric CO 2 levels According to the preprint, atmospheric CO 2 is the driver of ocean acidification, which will result in 80 to 90 percent of all marine life being lost by 2045.

Some in the media gave credence to unreviewed studies about COVID-19. We can also add marine biology to that list.