Figure 5.

Taxonomic composition of micro-eukaryote communities across the whole photic zone. Relative abundances for the main taxonomic groups were averaged for the five depth layers in each province. In panel (A) the micro-eukaryotes collected on the 3 μm filters (SP) are shown, while in panel (B) the micro-eukaryotes collected on the 8 μm filters (LP) are reported. OTUs were grouped at the taxonomic level of class. Each single heat map shows the five depth layers on the y-axis from the top to the bottom, and the six oceanographic provinces from South to North on the x-axis. Each taxonomic group is therefore composed of a block consisting of six times five rectangles, encompassing the provinces and depth layers, respectively.