TABLE 1.

Summary table of the respective advantages of imaging and microscopy for different applications requiring taxonomic identification of phytoplankton.

	APPLICATION
	Species Identification Training	HAB Tracking and Monitoring	Phytoplankton Ecology
IMAGING	• Speeds up the training process. • Trainees can work with samples non-destructively. • Trainees can be tasked with identification of a subset of species of interest. • Trainers and trainees can interact and work remotely and asynchronously.	• Higher frequency of sampling in time and space is possible. • Enables inter-calibration between regional and global laboratories. • Allows rapid counts of a small suite of target species without losing information on other species present. • Allows for real time results to inform regulatory actions even if field staff or citizen scientists are not trained taxonomic analysts (i.e., through automated classification of images).	• Can generate large image libraries which enables regional and global inter-comparisons. • Images can be archived for re-examination and analysis at a later date. • Allows for easier estimation of cell size and biovolume, useful for model validation and comparison. • Images cells from multiple orientations allowing more accurate estimates of biovolume.
MICROSCOPY	• Allows for better optical resolution and precise focus to investigate morphological features of a cell that occur on different focal planes. • Allows for the use of specialized methods, such as fluorescent dyes to facilitate identification based on specific morphological features.	• Allows for detection of emerging HAB taxa that may be unexpected in the area or not previously detected. • Allows for better optical resolution and precise focus to investigate different focal planes. • Allows for the use of specialized methods, such as fluorescent dyes.	• Allows for more reliable enumeration of rare species as sample volumes may be larger. • Allows for finer distinction between similarly structured species. • Allows for better resolution of small celled taxa (<5 μm) that are mostly missed by imaging instruments.