Chemtax version 1.95 for calculating the taxonomic composition of phytoplankton populations

Brief description

CHEMTAX V1.95
This program was written by Chris Boucher, assisted by Harry Higgins and Simon Wright, for the Australian Antarctic Division.
It is a stand-alone program that takes input from a Microsoft Excel worksheet.
It calculates the taxonomic composition of phytoplankton populations based on pigment data and a table of the expected taxonomic composition and pigment:chl a ratios entered by the operator.
It is based on CHEMTAX V1, which was a MATLAB script written by Mark Mackey (CSIRO) and published in Mackey et al (1996).
The zip folder contains Chemtax.exe, Chemtax2.dll, Testrun195.xls, PicoDataWorkup.xls (example), CHEMTAXHelper for V195.xlm.
Also included are two Word files (Chemtax 195 Instructions.doc, and Chaxmanw.rtf, which is the manual for Version 1).The latter manual contains details on the algorithms used in Chemtax, which are unchanged, but the operating instructions in that manual are superseded by those in Chemtax 195 Instructions.doc.

Please note: CHEMTAX must not be used as a black box. It will not deduce what taxa are in the water. The user must input the expected taxa and their expected pigment composition, then CHEMTAX will calculate the contributions of each taxon to the total in each sample. It is imperative that the user understands the function of CHEMTAX, and the taxonomic distribution of pigments (including the potential ambiguities) if useful data are to be obtained.
A detailed strategy for applying CHEMTAX (and interpreting pigment data in general) is given in Higgins et al (2011).
An example of combining CHEMTAX with other data is given in Wright et al (2010).
Higgins H.W., Wright S. W., Schluter L. (2011). Quantitative Interpretation of Chemotaxonomic Pigment Data, Chapter 6, Phytoplankton Pigments: Characterization, Chemotaxonomy and Applications in Oceanography, Suzanne Roy, Einar Skarstad Egeland, Geir Johnsen and Carole Anne Llewellyn (eds.) Cambridge University Press.

Wright, SW, van den Enden, RL, Pearce, I, Davidson, AT, Scott FJ, Westwood, KJ (2010). Phytoplankton community structure and stocks in the Southern Ocean (30 - 80 degrees E) determined by CHEMTAX analysis of HPLC pigment signatures. Deep-Sea Research II 57, 758-778

A CHEMTAX User Forum has been set up at http://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/chemtax_users.

Registration:

After downloading the files, please email the enclosed registration form to Simon.Wright@aad.gov.au with CHEMTAX in the title. Please note that Simon is semi-retired and may not respond immediately.