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Gephyrocapsa huxleyi
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<p><i>Gephyrocapsa huxleyi</i>, also called <i>Emiliania huxleyi</i>, is the most abundant species of <a href="/facts/Coccolithophore/t8LQk7SP">coccolithophore</a> in modern oceans found in almost all ecosystems from the equator to sub-polar regions, and from nutrient rich <a href="/facts/Upwelling/UuJovSjH">upwelling</a> zones to nutrient poor oligotrophic waters. It is one of thousands of different <a href="/facts/Photosynthesis/TMV7w693">photosynthetic</a> plankton that freely drift in the <a href="/facts/Photic_zone/pTrzLGG5">photic zone</a> of the ocean, forming the basis of virtually all marine <a href="/facts/Food_web/YaakLo08">food webs</a>. It is studied for the extensive <a href="/facts/Algal_bloom/TTP5g2Ah">blooms</a> it forms in nutrient-depleted waters after the reformation of the summer <a href="/facts/Thermocline/0p0cKR3B">thermocline</a>. Like other coccolithophores, <i>G. huxleyi</i> is a single-celled <a href="/facts/Phytoplankton/tK5MUIkA">phytoplankton</a> covered with uniquely ornamented <a href="/facts/Calcite/gKMHYQJo">calcite</a> disks called <a href="/facts/Coccolith/X4qCa2sf">coccoliths</a>. Individual coccoliths are abundant in marine <a href="/facts/Sediment/zsIH1A6U">sediments</a> although complete coccospheres are more unusual. In the case of <i>G. huxleyi</i>, not only the shell, but also the soft part of the organism may be recorded in sediments. It produces a group of chemical compounds that are very resistant to decomposition. These chemical compounds, known as <a href="/facts/Alkenone/gAflh5z4">alkenones</a>, can be found in marine sediments long after other soft parts of the organisms have decomposed. Alkenones are most commonly used by <a href="/facts/Earth_science/rQsXCSbM">earth scientists</a> as a means to estimate past <a href="/facts/Sea_surface_temperature/D9bNcRxX">sea surface temperatures</a>. </p><p>Name: The names <i>Emiliania huxleyi</i> and <i>Gephyrocapsa huxleyi</i> are both valid under the International Code of Nomenclature, use of <i>G. huxleyi</i> has increased but is not followed by all workers (see e.g. <a href="http://www.mikrotax.org/Nannotax3/index.php?dir=Coccolithophores/Isochrysidales/Noelaerhabdaceae/Emiliania/Emiliania%20huxleyi">Nannotax</a> website). </p>