Complementary Approaches to Assess Phytoplankton Groups and Size Classes on a Long Transect in the Atlantic Ocean

Phytoplankton biomass, through its proxy, Chlorophyll a, has been assessed at synoptic temporal and spatial scales with satellite remote sensing (RS) for over two decades. Also, RS algorithms to monitor relative size classes abundance are widely used; however, differentiating functional types from RS, as well as the assessment of phytoplankton structure, in terms of carbon remains a challenge. Hence, the main motivation of this work it to discuss the links between size classes and phytoplankton groups, in order to foster the capability of assessing phytoplankton community structure and phytoplankton size fractionated carbon budgets. To accomplish our goal, we used data (on nutrients, photosynthetic pigments concentration and cell numbers per taxa) collected in surface samples along a transect on the Atlantic Ocean, during the 25th Atlantic Meridional Transect cruise (AMT25) between 50° N and 50° S, from nutrient-rich high latitudes to the oligotrophic gyres. We compared phytoplankton size classes from two methodological approaches: (i) using the concentration of diagnostic photosynthetic pigments, and assessing the abundance of the three size classes, micro-, nano-, and picoplankton, and (ii) identifying and enumerating phytoplankton taxa by microscopy or by flow cytometry, converting into carbon, and dividing the community into five size classes, according to their cell carbon content. The distribution of phytoplankton community in the different oceanographic regions is presented in terms of size classes, taxonomic groups and functional types, and discussed in relation to the environmental oceanographic conditions. The distribution of seven functional types along the transect showed the dominance of picoautotrophs in the Atlantic gyres and high biomass of diatoms and autotrophic dinoflagellates (ADinos) in higher northern and southern latitudes, where larger cells constituted the major component of the biomass. Total carbon ranged from 65 to 4 mg carbon m–3, at latitudes 45° S and 27° N, respectively. The pigment and cell carbon approaches gave good consistency for picoplankton and microplankton size classes, but nanoplankton size class was overestimated by the pigment-based approach. The limitation of enumerating methods to accurately resolve cells between 5 and 10 μm might be cause of this mismatch, and is highlighted as a knowledge gap. Finally, the three-component model of Brewin et al. was fitted to the Chlorophyll a (Chla) data and, for the first time, to the carbon data, to extract the biomass of three size classes of phytoplankton. The general pattern of the model fitted to the carbon data was in accordance with the fits to Chla data. The ratio of the parameter representing the asymptotic maximum biomass gave reasonable values for Carbon:Chla ratios, with an overall median of 112, but with higher values for picoplankton (170) than for combined pico-nanoplankton (36). The approach may be useful for inferring size-fractionated carbon from Earth Observation.

Underway Hyperspectral Bio-Optical Assessments of Phytoplankton Size Classes in the River-Influenced Northern Gulf of Mexico

High inflows of freshwater from the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers into the northern Gulf of Mexico during spring contribute to strong physical and biogeochemical gradients which, in turn, influence phytoplankton community composition across the river plume–ocean mixing zone. Spectral features representative of bio-optical signatures of phytoplankton size classes (PSCs) were retrieved from underway, shipboard hyperspectral measurements of above-water remote sensing reflectance using the quasi-analytical algorithm (QAA_v6) and validated against in situ pigment data and spectrophotometric analyses of phytoplankton absorption. The results shed new light on sub-km scale variability in PSCs associated with dynamic and spatially heterogeneous environmental processes in river-influenced oceanic waters. Our findings highlight the existence of localized regions of dominant picophytoplankton communities associated with river plume fronts in both the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers in an area of the coastal margin that is otherwise characteristically dominated by larger microphytoplankton. This study demonstrates the applicability of underway hyperspectral observations for providing insights about small-scale physical-biological dynamics in optically complex coastal waters. Fine-scale observations of phytoplankton communities in surface waters as shown here and future satellite retrievals of hyperspectral data will provide a novel means of exploring relationships between physical processes of river plume–ocean mixing and frontal dynamics on phytoplankton community composition.

Identificaction of phytoplankton blooms in the Gerlache Strait, West Antarctic Peninsula

In order to identify phytoplankton blooms, the inherent optical properties index (IOPIndex) was used in surface water samples and the maximum chlorophyll-a (MPC) that were taken in the Third (January 2017) and in the Fourth Expedition (January 2018) from Colombia to Antarctica in the Gerlache Strait (EG). The IOPIndex is calculated from the standardized spatial anomalies of the phytoplankton, detritus and colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) absorption coefficients using wavelength 443. In addition, the phytoplankton size index was calculated using the Blue / Red ratio and this related to the IOPIndex to determine the size structure of the phytoplankton responsible for the blooms. In 2017, four stations were identified under bloom conditions, where two were superficial blooms and two subsurface bloom; to three in conditions of decrease of the bloom and to twelve in conditions of non-bloom, with a structure of diverse size where populations of the micro, nano and the picophytoplankton predominated. In 2018, two stations were identified in bloom conditions, being one superficial bloom and the other subsurface bloom; to two in conditions of decrease in bloom and nine in conditions of non-bloom, the size structure that dominated the blooms was microphytoplankton. With the IOPIndex, subsurface bloom conditions were observed in both expeditions, also proving their effectiveness for blooms generated by natural or seasonal conditions at different depths of the water column.

Size-fractionated surface phytoplankton in the Kara and Laptev Seas: environmental control and spatial variability

Climate-induced variability of phytoplankton size structure influences primary productivity, marine food web dynamics, biosedimentation and exchange of CO2 between the atmosphere and ocean. Investigation of phytoplankton size structure in the Arctic Ocean is important due to rapid changes in its ecosystems related to increasing temperature and declining sea ice cover. We estimated the contribution of surface micro-, nano- and picophytoplankton to the total carbon biomass, chlorophyll a concentration and primary production in the Kara and Laptev Seas and investigated the relationships of these phytoplankton size groups with environmental factors which determine their spatial variability. Additionally, we compared chlorophyll specific carbon fixation rate, specific growth rate and carbon to chlorophyll ratios among different phytoplankton size groups. The investigation was carried out from August to September 2018. Generally, picophytoplankton was dominant in terms of chlorophyll a and primary production in the whole study area. The spatial variability of phytoplankton size classes was influenced by river discharge and relied mainly on water temperature, salinity and dissolved silicon concentration. Microphytoplankton prevailed across the river runoff region under conditions of low salinity and relatively high water temperature, while picophytoplankton was predominant under conditions of high salinity and low water temperature. Our study is the first to characterize size-fractionated phytoplankton abundance in the Kara and Laptev Seas, and provides a baseline for future assessment of the response of Kara and Laptev Sea ecosystems to climate-induced processes using phytoplankton size structure.

Phytoplankton community structuring and succession in a competition-neutral resource landscape

Phytoplankton community composition and succession affect aquatic food webs and biogeochemistry. Resource competition is commonly viewed as an important governing factor for community structuring and this perception is imbedded in modern ecosystem models. Quantitative consideration of the physical spacing between phytoplankton cells, however, suggests that direct competition for growth-limiting resources is uncommon. Here we describe how phytoplankton size distributions and temporal successions are compatible with a competition-neutral resource landscape. Consideration of phytoplankton-herbivore interactions with proportional feeding size ranges yields small-cell dominated size distributions consistent with observations for stable aquatic environments, whereas predator–prey temporal lags and blooming physiologies shift this distribution to larger mean cell sizes in temporally dynamic environments. We propose a conceptual mandala for understanding phytoplankton community composition where species successional series are initiated by environmental disturbance, guided by the magnitude of these disturbances and nutrient stoichiometry, and terminated with the return toward a ‘stable solution’. Our conceptual mandala provides a framework for interpreting and modeling the environmental structuring of natural phytoplankton populations.