Webinar: Introduction to Quantitative Plankton Imaging & EcoTaxa hosted by FlowCam

Date & Time: Tuesday, March 17, 2026 | 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM EDT 

Description: Quantitative plankton imaging plays a vital role in marine research. With imaging instruments like FlowCam, researchers can image, count, measure, and sort thousands of plankton per sample. Imaging helps research and monitoring groups build capacity for observing changes in abundance, size distribution (including biovolume), and community structure.

The sheer number of images produced by imaging instruments demands new approaches for plankton classification. Platforms like EcoTaxa are helping research groups accelerate the classification and validation of large datasets, enabling a faster path from sample to insights.

In this webinar, Dr. Fabien Lombard will discuss the challenges and opportunities of quantitative plankton imaging and explain why his lab developed EcoTaxa to handle large datasets from long-term monitoring sites and Tara Ocean expeditions.

We will then provide a demonstration of the fundamental capabilities within EcoTaxa, led by Leah Gibala-Smith, followed by a Q&A session with her and Dr. Lombard. This is Part 1 of a two-part series; Part 2 will provide hands-on EcoTaxa instruction.

Learning Objectives:

1. The value and challenges of quantitative plankton imaging
2. How EcoTaxa enables FlowCam users to efficiently classify large datasets and generate ecological insights

Who Should Attend: This webinar is for faculty, students, program managers, and technicians involved in plankton research & monitoring who are considering adding plankton imaging to their analytical toolkit, as well as current FlowCam users interested in new image classification.

EcoTaxa is most useful for programs interested in full plankton community composition, so such programs are particularly encouraged to attend.

**All registrants will receive a copy of the webinar recording**

Speakers:

• Dr. Fabien Lombard, Associate Professor, Laboratoire d'Océanographie de Villefranche (LOV)
• Leah Gibala-Smith, Marine Aquatics Sales Manager, Yokogawa Fluid Imaging Technologies, Inc

Reserve your spot!