Phytoplankton diversity in the Northern Adriatic SeaMontali, Giorgia (Avtor) Neri, Francesca (Avtor) Banchi, Elisa (Avtor) Cerino, Federica (Avtor) Turk Dermastia, Timotej (Avtor) Francé, Janja (Avtor) Mozetič, Patricija (Avtor) phytoplanktondiversityenvironmental DNALong-Term Ecological Researchamplicon sequencingNorth Adriatic SeaPhytoplankton plays a fundamental role in marine ecosystems and is widely used to assess environmental change. In this study, light microscopy and DNA metabarcoding approaches were used to investigate phytoplankton communities at three long-term monitoring sites in the northern Adriatic Sea. By combining the two approaches, more than 500 species were recorded. Metabarcoding detected substantially higher diversity, particularly among small and fragile organisms that are difficult to identify under a microscope, whereas microscopy was better for identifying larger species with distinctive morphology. Because species contain different amounts of genetic material, DNA data can overestimate or underestimate their true contribution to the community. Indeed, after applying correction factors that account for these differences, the DNA-based estimates became more consistent with the microscopy results for several phytoplankton groups. The differences among the samples were influenced more by the approach used than by the sampling location. Overall, combining these two approaches provides an accurate and robust picture of phytoplankton communities. In this way, it is possible to improve the reliability of marine biodiversity assessments and to support better environmental monitoring and management in coastal seas.20262026-03-25 14:55:49Neznano28612sl