BioCalc: A software tool for the calculation of biovolume of phytoplankton samples

  • Edinaldo Nelson dos Santos-Silva Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3340-4541
  • Raize Castro Mendes Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia/PPGBADPI
  • Mauro José Cavalcanti Ecoinformatics Studio, Caixa Postal 46521, CEP 20551-940 Rio de Janeiro, RJ
Keywords: biovolume, phytoplankton, morphometrics, software.

Abstract

The estimate of cell biovolume, based on measurements of linear dimensions of shapes adapted to standard geometric models, is important for the study of phytoplankton ecology. However, time-consuming calculations are required for the estimation of biovolume from linear measurements. In this paper, a simple, user-friendly multiplatform software tool is presented to aid in the calculation of the biovolume of phytoplankton samples, using geometric models and conventional microscopic observations. The software implements the most recent formulae available in the literature for calculating cell biovolume on the basis of a set of 31 geometric shapes.

Author Biography

Raize Castro Mendes, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia/PPGBADPI

Laboratório de Plâncton, Coordenação de Biodiversidade

Published
2019-06-14
Section
Articles