<scp> <i>phytoclass</i> </scp> : A pigment‐based chemotaxonomic method to determine the biomass of phytoplankton classes

Pigment-based chemotaxonomy is a widely utilized tool to determine the biomass of phytoplankton classes from pigment biomarkers. The CHEMTAX approach sensitive initial estimates pigment-to-chlorophyll (Chl a) ratios for required, even though these are modified by process. We present an alternative chemotaxonomic method that utilizes simulated annealing with steepest descent algorithm derive class abundances and pigment-to-Chl ratios. tested on two synthetic datasets Southern Ocean communities. Each dataset composed 1000 inversion samples (set abundances, ratios, profiles) sizes ranging between 5 60 individual samples. show new displays higher accuracy than common configurations method, lower differences true estimated abundances. Symmetric mean absolute percentage error were 4.8–11%, compared 18–70% approaches. Proportions variance explained (R2) using 0.98–0.99 0.71–0.89 CHEMTAX. Overall, this methodology capable determining at without sensitivity