Suzanne Roy is a Professor of Biological Oceanography at the Institut des Sciences de la Mer of the Université du Québec à Rimouski (Canada) and a member of Québec-Ocean. Over the last 20 years, Professor Roy has developed an expertise in the ecology and physiology of marine and estuarine phytoplankton, focusing on various aspects such as population dynamics of harmful algae, environmental impacts of aquaculture and ozone-related ultraviolet radiation effects. She also runs an analytical laboratory for the HPLC determination of algal pigments and UV-screening compounds. Her current research interests include the combined influence of climate warming and enhanced UV on phytoplankton communities, photoprotection and cell mortality in Arctic phytoplankton, and the transport of non-indigenous dinoflagellates in ships' ballast tanks. Several of these projects are part of Canada's major NSERC Research Networks such as CAISN and CFL. Professor Roy is a member of the Scientific Committee for the international Global Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (GEOHAB) programme. Einar Skarstad Egeland is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture at Bodø University College, Norway. He has a broad experience in organic chemical analysis (chromatography and spectroscopy). He is an internationally recognised scientist on carotenoid analysis from natural sources (mostly prasinophyte algae, but also other algal classes). Currently, he is involved in several cross-disciplinary research projects related to marine ecology, aquaculture and seafood quality. He is an active member of the Marine Ecology Group at Bodø University College. Carole Llewellyn is a microbial biogeochemist at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK. She has experience in phytoplankton pigments and UV absorbing compounds spanning over 20 years. Her research interests are focused on understanding the role of phytoplankton in the ocean and more specifically on microbial and food web dynamics, microbial biodiversity, community composition and photophysiology. At an applied level, her research contributes to eutrophication and pollution studies and links with satellite remote-sensing and bio-optics. More recently she has used her knowledge on algae and pigments to contribute to the rapidly growing area of algal biotechnology. Geir Johnsen is a Professor of Marine Biology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), and an Adjunct Professor in marine bio-optics at the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS). His major interests are the use of bio-optical methods in taxonomy, ecology and physiology of micro- and macroalgae. His main focus in the last 20 years has been on photosynthesis, light harvesting and utilization in algae and marine invertebrates with photosynthetic endosymbionts. Current interests include new approaches in in situ and remote sensing techniques for monitoring and mapping of planktonic and benthic organisms in the water surface, water column and sea floor.