Spatial and temporal variability of the phytoplankton community structure in the North Water Polynya, investigated using pigment biomarkers

2004 ◽  
Vol 61 (11) ◽  
pp. 2038-2052 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Vidussi ◽  
Suzanne Roy ◽  
Connie Lovejoy ◽  
Marie Gammelgaard ◽  
Helge Abildhauge Thomsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Phytoplankton Community ◽  
Phytoplankton Bloom ◽  
Circulation Pattern ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽  
Phytoplankton Community Structure ◽  
Southeastern Part ◽  
Chl A ◽  
The North ◽  
North Water

Phytoplankton taxonomic pigments were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) during a 3-month survey (April–June 1998) in the North Water (NOW) Polynya (Canadian Arctic) to investigate changes in phytoplankton biomass and composition and the physical–chemical factors that influence these changes. A phytoplankton bloom with high chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentrations (up to 17.45 mg·m–3 at 15 m) occurred in mid-May along the Greenland coast in the southeastern part of the NOW Polynya. The initiation of the phytoplankton bloom was linked to shallow mixed-layer depths. The contribution of the different phytoplankton groups to Chl a inferred using a factorization program (CHEMTAX) indicated that the bloom was diatom-dominated (maximum 94% diatoms). The phytoplankton community structure was influenced by the water mass characteristics and the surface circulation pattern. Autotrophic flagellates dominated in April and May along the Canadian coast, where cold Arctic waters with relatively deep mixed layers were found. In contrast, diatoms dominated in May along the Greenland coast in warmer water masses of Atlantic origin and during June in the whole polynya, except in the southernmost part.

scholarly journals Observing and modelling phytoplankton community structure in the North Sea

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 1419-1444 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Ford ◽  
Johan van der Molen ◽  
Kieran Hyder ◽  
John Bacon ◽  
Rosa Barciela ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Phytoplankton Community ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Phytoplankton Community Structure ◽  
Pigment Analysis ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
In Situ Observations

Abstract. Phytoplankton form the base of the marine food chain, and knowledge of phytoplankton community structure is fundamental when assessing marine biodiversity. Policy makers and other users require information on marine biodiversity and other aspects of the marine environment for the North Sea, a highly productive European shelf sea. This information must come from a combination of observations and models, but currently the coastal ocean is greatly under-sampled for phytoplankton data, and outputs of phytoplankton community structure from models are therefore not yet frequently validated. This study presents a novel set of in situ observations of phytoplankton community structure for the North Sea using accessory pigment analysis. The observations allow a good understanding of the patterns of surface phytoplankton biomass and community structure in the North Sea for the observed months of August 2010 and 2011. Two physical–biogeochemical ocean models, the biogeochemical components of which are different variants of the widely used European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model (ERSEM), were then validated against these and other observations. Both models were a good match for sea surface temperature observations, and a reasonable match for remotely sensed ocean colour observations. However, the two models displayed very different phytoplankton community structures, with one better matching the in situ observations than the other. Nonetheless, both models shared some similarities with the observations in terms of spatial features and inter-annual variability. An initial comparison of the formulations and parameterizations of the two models suggests that diversity between the parameter settings of model phytoplankton functional types, along with formulations which promote a greater sensitivity to changes in light and nutrients, is key to capturing the observed phytoplankton community structure. These findings will help inform future model development, which should be coupled with detailed validation studies, in order to help facilitate the wider application of marine biogeochemical modelling to user and policy needs.

scholarly journals High-resolution analysis of a North Sea phytoplankton community structure based on in situ flow cytometry observations and potential implication for remote sensing

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (13) ◽  
pp. 4051-4066 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Thyssen ◽  
S. Alvain ◽  
A. Lefèbvre ◽  
D. Dessailly ◽  
M. Rijkeboer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flow Cytometry ◽  
Community Structure ◽  
North Sea ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Phytoplankton Community ◽  
Phytoplankton Community Structure ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Daily Scale

Abstract. Phytoplankton observation in the ocean can be a challenge in oceanography. Accurate estimations of its biomass and dynamics will help to understand ocean ecosystems and refine global climate models. Relevant data sets of phytoplankton defined at a functional level and on a sub-meso- and daily scale are thus required. In order to achieve this, an automated, high-frequency, dedicated scanning flow cytometer (SFC, Cytobuoy b.v., the Netherlands) has been developed to cover the entire size range of phytoplankton cells whilst simultaneously taking pictures of the largest of them. This cytometer was directly connected to the water inlet of a PocketFerryBox during a cruise in the North Sea, 08–12 May 2011 (DYMAPHY project, INTERREG IV A "2 Seas"), in order to identify the phytoplankton community structure of near surface waters (6 m) with a high spatial resolution basis (2.2 ± 1.8 km). Ten groups of cells, distinguished on the basis of their optical pulse shapes, were described (abundance, size estimate, red fluorescence per unit volume). Abundances varied depending on the hydrological status of the traversed waters, reflecting different stages of the North Sea blooming period. Comparisons between several techniques analysing chlorophyll a and the scanning flow cytometer, using the integrated red fluorescence emitted by each counted cell, showed significant correlations. For the first time, the community structure observed from the automated flow cytometry data set was compared with PHYSAT reflectance anomalies over a daily scale. The number of matchups observed between the SFC automated high-frequency in situ sampling and remote sensing was found to be more than 2 times better than when using traditional water sampling strategies. Significant differences in the phytoplankton community structure within the 2 days for which matchups were available suggest that it is possible to label PHYSAT anomalies using automated flow cytometry to resolve not only dominant groups but also community structure.

scholarly journals Interannual stability of phytoplankton community composition in the North-East Atlantic

2020 ◽  
Vol 655 ◽  
pp. 43-57
Author(s):  
S Allen ◽  
S Henson ◽  
A Hickman ◽  
C Beaulieu ◽  
PC Doncaster ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Phytoplankton Community ◽  
Decadal Variability ◽  
Mixed Layer Depth ◽  
Phytoplankton Community Structure ◽  
East Atlantic ◽  
Phytoplankton Community Composition ◽  
North East ◽  
The North

As primary producers, phytoplankton play a pivotal role in the marine environment and are central to many biogeochemical processes. Changes to phytoplankton community composition could have major consequences for wider ecosystem functioning and may occur in response to climate change. Here we describe multi-decadal variability in phytoplankton community structure using taxonomic data from the Continuous Plankton Recorder collected in the North-East Atlantic from 1969-2013, using a total of 42 diatom and dinoflagellate taxa. We considered a range of characteristics of community structure, including taxonomic diversity and community stability and disorder, and how these characteristics change in response to sea surface temperature, mixed layer depth and the North Atlantic Oscillation. We found that phytoplankton community composition was largely stable on interannual timescales. A change in community composition occurred between 1985 and 1995 due to an increased dominance of 2 diatom taxa (Rhizosolenia styliformis and Thalassiosira spp.); however, after this period, the community returned to its previous composition. Further, a community disorder analysis found that phytoplankton compositional structure became more rigid in recent years, which may lead to an eventual community shift in the future. In contrast to previous studies that revealed relationships between total phytoplankton abundance or biomass and environmental forcing, we found that community structure had, at most, a very weak relationship with the environmental parameters tested. Changes to the physical environment may therefore have less influence at interannual timescales on phytoplankton community structure than previously thought.

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