The ability of a field population of diatoms to discriminate between phosphate and arsenate

Dissolved inorganic arsenic and phosphate levels present in an enclosed experimental ecosystem have been studied during the course of a natural spring diatom bloom. Whilst phosphate levels dropped rapidly to almost zero as the bloom developed, arsenic levels remained constant even when arsenate levels exceeded the dissolved phosphate. Certain diatom species (Thalassiosira spp., Chaetoceras spp. and Skeletonema costatum) therefore appear to be capable of discriminating, either by uptake or excretion, between phosphate and arsenate. The implications of such findings are discussed.     

Role of dissolved silicate in the occurrence of a phytoplankton bloom

The spring bloom of phytoplankton was studied in March in Funka Bay, Japan, to test the Tsunogai (1979)'s hypothesis regarding the role of silicate in the bloom. The hypothesis comprises two parts. 1) Diatoms are predominant when all the physical and chemical conditions are adequate for plankton growth. 2) Since the Si:P ratio of the diatom body is usually much larger than that of sea water, flagellates (non-siliceous phytoplankton) replace diatoms after dissolved silicate in the sea water has been almost completely consumed by diatoms. At the end of the bloom in late March phosphate still remained in the water but silicate was exhausted and the main species of phytoplankton changed from diatoms to flagellates. Grazing pressure by zooplankton at this time was not so great. A model using the data on assimilation rates of silicate showed a dramatic change of silicate uptake in late March. Poison in scallops caused byProtogonyaulux sp. (dinoflagellates) rapidly increased from mid-April at all stations along the coast of Funka Bay. All of these findings support Tsunogai's hypothesis.     

Size distribution of colloidal trace metals and organic carbon during a coastal bloom in the Baltic Sea

The physico-chemical speciation of organic carbon and selected metals was measured during a coastal bloom in Ekhagen Bay, Baltic Sea, using ultrafiltration.One important objective with the study was to see if any depletion of trace metals could be measured in the directly bioavailable fraction (<1000 Da, the soluble low molecular weight fraction, LMW) during a plankton bloom. Filters with five different cut-offs were used (1 kD (1000 Da), 5 kD, 10 kD, 100 kD and 0.22 μm) in order to delineate the size distribution of colloidal organic carbon (COC) and trace metals.During the bloom in May, LMW Al, Co, Cu, Mn and Ni concentrations decreased although the colloidal and particulate concentrations were relatively high. Data show that desorption of colloidal and particulate bound trace metals to the LMW fraction was slower than the process depleting the LMW fraction.Estimates of the maximum active uptake of Cu, Ni and Mn by the phytoplankton, and the loss of non-bioactive Al from the LMW fraction, indicate that processes other than active uptake by phytoplankton must contribute to the observed depletion of trace metals in the LMW fraction. Hence, in order to estimate the bioavailable pool of trace metals for plankton during bloom conditions, these other processes must be understood and quantified.Transparent Exopolymeric Particles (TEP, reflecting sugar-rich phytoplankton exudates) increased around eight times during the plankton bloom. We hypothesize that the formation of TEP is a process that might be important for the transfer of trace metals from the LMW to the particulate fraction during the phytoplankton bloom, but the significance of TEP for this depletion in Baltic Sea surface water remains to be shown.     

Population dynamics of phytoplankton, heterotrophic bacteria, and viruses during the spring bloom in the western subarctic Pacific

We characterized the community composition of phytoplankton in the western subarctic Pacific from the pre-bloom to the decline phase of the spring bloom with special reference to decreases in the silicic acid concentration in surface waters as an index for diatom bloom development. Furthermore, responses of heterotrophic bacteria and viruses to the spring bloom were also concomitantly investigated. Under pre-bloom conditions when nutrients were abundant but the surface mixed layer depth was relatively deep, chlorophyll (Chl) a concentrations were consistently low and green algae (chlorophytes and prasinophytes), cryptophytes, and diatoms were predominant in the phytoplankton assemblages as estimated by algal pigment signatures. Together with the shallowing of the mixed layer depth and the decrease in silicic acid concentration, diatoms bloomed remarkably in the Oyashio region, though the magnitude of the bloom in the Kuroshio-Oyashio transition (hereafter Transition) region was relatively small. A total of 77 diatom species were identified, with the bloom-forming diatoms mainly consisting of Thalassiosira, Chaetoceros, and Fragilariopsis species. It has become evident that the carotenoid fucoxanthin can serve as a strong indicator of the diatom carbon biomass during the spring diatom bloom. Differences in the species richness of diatoms among stations generally enabled us to separate the Oyashio bloom stations from the Transition and the Oyashio pre-bloom stations. Relatively high values of the Shannon-Wiener index for the diatom species were also maintained during the Oyashio bloom, indicating that a wide variety of species then shared dominance. In the decline phase of the Oyashio bloom when surface nutrient concentrations decreased, senescent diatom cells increased, as inferred from the levels of chlorophyllide a. Although the cell density of heterotrophic bacteria changed little with the development of the diatom bloom, viral abundance increased toward the end of the bloom, suggesting an increased likelihood of mortality among organisms including diatoms resulting from viral infection. This is the first report on the microbial trophodynamics, including viruses, during the spring diatom bloom in the western subarctic Pacific.     

Arsenic,barium, germanium,tin, dimethylsulfide and nutrient biogeochemistry in Charlotte Harbor,Florida, a phosphorus-enriched estuary

Concentrations of dissolved nutrients (NO₃, PO₄, Si), germanium species, arsenic species, tin, barium, dimethylsulfide and related parameters were measured along the salinity gradient in Charlotte Harbor. Phosphate enrichment from the phosphate industry on the Peace River promotes a productive diatom bloom near the river mouth where NO₃ and Si are completely consumed. Inorganic germanium is completely depleted in this bloom by uptake into biogenic opal. The $\text{Ge}\text{Si}$ ratio taken up by diatoms is about 0·7 × 10^?6, the same as that provided by the river flux, confirming that siliceous organisms incorporate germanium as an accidental trace replacement for silica. Monomethylgermanium and dimethylgermanium concentrations are undetectable in the Peace River, and increase linearly with increasing salinity to the seawater end of the bay, suggesting that these organogermanium species behave conservatively in estuaries, and are neither produced nor consumed during estuarine biogenic opal formation or dissolution. Inorganic arsenic displays slight removal in the bloom. Monomethylarsenic is produced both in the bloom and in mid-estuary, while dimethylarsenic is conservative in the bloom but produced in mid-estuary. The total production of methylarsenicals within the bay approximately balances the removal of inorganic arsenic, suggesting that most biological arsenic uptake in the estuary is biomethylated and released to the water column. Dimethylsulfide increases with increasing salinity in the estuary and shows evidence of removal, probably both by degassing and by microbial consumption. An input of DMS is observed in the central estuary. The behavior of total dissolvable tin shows no biological activity in the bloom or in mid-estuary, but does display a low-salinity input signal that parallels dissolved organic material, perhaps suggesting an association between tin and DOM. Barium displays dramatic input behavior at mid-salinities, probably due to slow release from clays deposited in the harbor after catastrophic phosphate slime spills into the Peace River.     

Phytoplankton community structure,as derived from pigment signatures,in the Kuroshio Extension and adjacent regions in winter and spring

The relationships between the spatiotemporal variation in phytoplankton community structure and environmental variables were investigated in the Kuroshio Extension (KE) region from winter to spring by analysing biomarker pigments. In winter, when the mixed layer was deep, phytoplankton communities were characterised by low biomass and a relatively high dominance of cryptophytes, followed by chlorophytes and pelagophytes. In spring, phytoplankton biomass generally increased with shoaling of the mixed layer. In April, when nitrate was not exhausted, chlorophytes became the most dominant group throughout the KE region, followed by cryptophytes. In May, in the south of the KE, phytoplankton biomass decreased with the depletion of nitrate and cyanobacteria dominated, whereas at the northern edge of the KE, phytoplankton biomass remained high. A predominance of diatoms occurred sporadically at the northern edge of the first ridge with a shallow mixed layer and an elevated nutricline. In contrast, the contribution of diatoms was low at the northern edge of the second ridge, despite high levels of nitrate and silicic acid, suggesting that factors other than macronutrient depletion limited diatom production. In general, the contribution of diatoms to the total phytoplankton biomass in the KE region was small in both winter (2.9%) and spring (16%). This study showed that the phytoplankton communities in the KE region during the spring bloom were generally composed of non-diatom phytoplankton groups, chlorophytes, cryptophytes, and prasinophytes. It is necessary to identify the roles of non-diatoms in grazing food chains to more accurately evaluate the KE as a nursery area for pelagic fish.     

Arsenic cycling in marine systems

The arsenic cycle in productive, near-shore marine systems is complex, involving both geochemical inputs and outflows and biological mediation. The major input to the Georgia Bight is intrusion of subsurface Gulf Stream water; in other marine systems, river run-off and atmospheric deposition may provide a large percentage of the arsenic input. Indiscriminate biological uptake is responsible for changes in arsenic speciation, involving approximately 20% of the dissolved arsenate pool and resulting in measurable concentrations of reduced and methylated arsenic species. The overall cycle is similar to the phosphate cycle; however, regeneration time for arsenic is much slower.     

Iron deficiency in micro-sized diatoms in the Oyashio region of the Western subarctic Pacific during spring

In order to detect iron (Fe) stress in micro-sized (20–200 μm) diatoms in the Oyashio region, western subarctic Pacific during spring, immunological ferredoxin/flavodoxin assays were applied to samples collected from the surface layer in May 2005. Concomitantly, the community composition of the micro-sized phytoplankton and hydrographic conditions, including dissolved Fe and macronutrient concentrations, were also examined. Chlorophyll (Chl) a concentrations were <2 mg m⁻³ at all sampling stations, except at a station where the Chl a level was 9.0 mg m⁻³ and a micro-sized diatom bloom occurred. A high abundance of ferredoxin in micro-sized diatoms was detected only at a rather near-shore station where dissolved Fe and macronutrient concentrations were higher, indicating that the micro-sized diatoms did not suffer from iron deficiency. On the other hand, flavodoxin in micro-sized diatoms was often observed at the other stations, including the bloom station, where macronutrients were replete but dissolved Fe concentration was low (0.31 nM). A significant amount of chlorophyllide a, a degradation product of Chl a, was also observed at the bloom station, suggesting a decline of the diatom bloom. The micro-sized phytoplankton species at all the stations were mainly composed of the diatoms Thalassiosira, Chaetoceros, and Fragilariopsis spp. Our study indicates that micro-sized diatoms were stressed by Fe bioavailability during the spring season in the Oyashio region     

One Dimensional Ecosystem Model Simulation of the Effects of Vertical Dilution by the Winter Mixing on the Spring Diatom Bloom

A one-dimensional ecosystem model has been used to investigate the processes relevant to the spring diatom bloom which play important roles in the biogeochemical cycle in the western subarctic Pacific. The model represents the plankton dynamics and the nutrient cycles in the spring diatom bloom; its results show the importance of dilution by deep mixing in winter. It is supposed that the vertically integrated biomass of phytoplankton decreases in the winter due to the decrease of photosynthesis, because the deep mixing transports phytoplankton to a layer with a low light level. However, the observed integrated diatom biomass increases as the mixed layer deepens. This is because the decrease of concentration due to dilution by mixing causes the diatom grazed pressure to be less significant than diatom photosynthesis. In other words, the effect of dilution on the grazed rate is more significant than the effect on the photosynthesis rate because the grazed rate depends on the concentrations of both diatom and grazer, whereas the photosynthesis rate depends only diatom concentration. The average specific diatom grazed rate, defined as grazed rate divided by diatom biomass, decreases by 35% associated with the deepening, while the average specific photosynthesis rate of diatom decreases by 11%. As a result, the average specific net diatom growth rate during the deep mixing is about 70% of its maximum during the spring diatom bloom. The deep mixing significantly affects the amplitude of the spring diatom bloom not only by the supply of nutrients but also by the dilution which drastically decreases the grazed pressure. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A daily study of the diatom spring bloom at Roscoff (France) in 1985. I. The spring bloom within the annual cycle

The repeated occurrence of a monospecific bloom of the plankton diatom Rhizosolenia delicatula at Roscoff (western English Channel) was made the subject of an interdisciplinary research programme. Samples were taken at daily intervals from April to July and at longer intervals during the remaining part of the year 1985. Routine physical parameters, light transmission, nutrients, dissolved oxygen, particle load, particulate N and P, chlorophyll content, phytoplankton counting, and zooplankton biomass were measured as a basis for more specific studies (to follow as subsequent papers in this series).The area is characterized by: high tidal range, permanent mixing throughout the year, low attenuation coefficients, moderate nutrient supply, and the dominance of benthic algae over phytoplankton. The spring bloom is significantly delayed with respect to the usual model for the temperate seas. Tidal cycles are expected to exert the main influence on bloom dynamics at the time scale of phytoplankton growth.     

Variation of dissolved organic matter and fluorescence characteristics before,during and after phytoplankton bloom

The variation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and fluorescence characteristics during the phytoplankton bloom were investigated in Yashima Bay, at the eastern part of the Seto Inland Sea, Japan. We found significant accumulations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) fluorescence, and UV₂₆₀ during the phytoplankton bloom period in 2005, although lower accumulations of DOC and DON and only increases of CDOM fluorescence were observed during the bloom period in 2006. Little or no correlation between DOM and phytoplankton abundance might be due to the composition of DOM, which is a complex mixture of organic materials. The 3D-EEM results revealed that the DOM produced around the phytoplankton bloom period contained tyrosine, tryptophan, and humic-like substances. Our results showed that the occurrence of phytoplankton bloom contributed to the production of DOM in coastal water but the DOM accumulation depended on the type of phytoplankton bloom, the phytoplankton species in particular. From our results, we concluded that phytoplankton have a great role in the dynamics of DOM as a producer in a coastal environment.     

Behavior of Cu, Ni and Cd during nutrient depletion in a spring bloom in Funka Bay

The concentrations of Cu, Ni and Cd were determined in Funka Bay during a spring phytoplankton bloom, consisting of diatoms. Just after the bloom, both dissolved Cd and nutrients were removed in the euphotic zone. However, the removal ratio of Cd to phosphate was very different from that in seawater. The removal of Cd took place at a Cd/phosphate ratio of 0.07×10⁻³, which was lower than in seawater before the bloom (0.25×10⁻³), leading to an increase in this ratio in seawater exceeding 0.7×10⁻³ at the end of the bloom. Elevated concentrations of Cd and phosphate were observed in the deeper layer after the bloom due to the decomposition of detrital materials produced in the bloom. The ratio of Cd/phosphate in the regeneration step was 0.24×10⁻³ which was different from the removal ratio of 0.07×10⁻³. These observations suggest that the high Cd/phosphate ratio in the regeneration would reflect a relatively high regeneration rate of Cd than that of phosphate. No significant decrease in Cu and Ni concentrations was observed during the development of the bloom, suggesting that biological removal of these metals was not so significant during the spring bloom. The concentrations of Cd, Cu and silicate in surface waters increased after the bloom with decreasing salinity due to the influence of a spring thaw.     

Factors controlling the temporal variation of fatty acids in piculate matter during a phytoplankton bloom in a marine mesocosm

Fatty acids present in suspended particles were examined following the onset of a phytoplankton bloom in an experimental marine mesocosm set up in Patricia Bay, Saanich Inlet, British Columbia, Canada. The predominantly diatom bloom, triggered by the addition of nutrients at the commencement of the experiment, was succeeded by several other phytoplankton forms, which in turn led to changes in particulate chl a, and organic carbon, and nitrogen within the experimental enclosure. An examination of individual fatty acids indicated that the variation of individual fatty acids can be classified into three groups, although the variation pattern of individual fatty acids differed from one another. An attempt was made to establish the factors controlling particulate fatty acid concentrations by principal component analysis. After Varimax rotation, six factors were extracted, of which four factors contributed to 83% of the data matrix. These were mainly dependent on the source of the particles i.e., diatoms, dinoflagellates, and bacteria.Fatty acid concentrations obtained by analysis of different lipid class fractions indicated that the production of fatty acids was distinctly related to the growth stage of the phytoplankton bloom. Fatty acids in triglycerides peaked during stationary phase, whereas fatty acids in polar lipids were high during the stage of an increase of phytoplankton biomass. However, fatty acid composition in both lipid classes changed under the influence of species succession of the phytoplankton population. This strongly suggested that species succession of the phytoplankton exerted the most significant control on fatty acid composition of particulate matter.     

Annually recurrent phytoplanktonic assemblages during summer in the seasonal ice zone west of the Antarctic Peninsula (Southern Ocean)

The distribution of phytoplankton composition, cell abundance and biomass from an area along the Western Antarctic Peninsula was studied during three summers, with the aim of understanding its dynamics over spatial and interannual scales. The studied area is characterized by seasonal sea-ice retreat and advance. Algae composition and concentration were found to be highly variable through the area as well as from year to year. Small unidentified phytoflagellates, diatoms and cryptophytes were the main phytoplankton groups, contributing the major proportion of total phytoplankton cell abundance and biomass concentration. Three annually recurrent phytoplankton assemblages were recognized in the area according to the algae composition and abundance: a diatom bloom associated with the sea-ice edge, an assemblage dominated by small unidentified phytoflagellates and cryptophytes, and a diatom-enriched assemblage in open waters. The distribution of these assemblages varied from year-to-year. During the summers preceded by early sea-ice retreat, the diatom bloom was spatially restricted and the other two assemblages occupied extended regions, whereas during the late sea-ice retreat year, the diatom bloom extended over a larger region and the other assemblages occupied smaller regions or were just absent. It was detected that these assemblages resemble different stages of the phytoplankton seasonal cycle, and that their distribution through the area can be related to a latitudinal and longitudinal gradient in the phytoplankton growth onset timing, associated with the progressive sea-ice retreat during spring. The local environmental conditions associated with each assemblage were also analyzed, but further study is needed for understanding the causes of the replacement of one assemblage by another through the area. On the other hand, the interannual variability in the distribution of the assemblages can be related to year-to-year differences in the timing of phytoplankton growth onset, associated with variations in the timing of the sea-ice retreat.     

Mechanisms determining species dominance in a phytoplankton bloom induced by the iron fertilization experiment EisenEx in the Southern Ocean

The dynamics of phytoplankton species populations recorded during the 3-week, iron-fertilization experiment EisenEx carried out in spring in the Antarctic Polar Frontal Zone are presented and discussed as the difference between growth and mortality rates. Only two cosmopolitan diatom species, the centric Chaetoceros debilis and the pennate Pseudo-nitzschia lineola, increased population density exponentially throughout the experiment to 150- and 90-fold of initial values, respectively. Because C. debilis initial abundance was tenfold lower than that of P. lineola, the two contributed 1% and 21% to bloom biomass, respectively at the end of the experiment, high-lighting the role of seeding in bloom formation. The other significant species increased population size at a linear rate throughout the experiment or for a short spurt phase to 3- to 18-fold of initial values. Conservative estimates of mortality rates within diatom species populations were obtained by comparing net accumulation rates of full cells with those of empty and broken frustules. The ratios were consistent over time for the various species but varied widely between them. The species-specific variation can be explained by differences in both growth and mortality rates, the latter partly due to either selective grazing or avoidance by the large protozoo- and metazooplankton populations present. Selective predation by the abundant copepod populations on protistan grazers of diatoms (ciliates and heterotrophic dinoflagellates) apparently aided diatom biomass build-up. The response patterns of populations of the phytoplankton species present fall into six categories comprising disparate species, indicating that phylogeny is a poor predictor of ecology. The group that did not respond to fertilization was the most diverse and included both endemic and cosmopolitan as well as background and bloom-forming species. This lack of response to the advent of favorable growth conditions indicates that proximate factors during EisenEx triggered growth only in some species but had little effect on others. We attribute the differences in behavior to ultimate factors such as seasonal effects on life cycles and other internal constraints on growth rates. The implications for our understanding of the evolutionary ecology of phytoplankton and its impact on global biogeochemical cycles are pointed out.     

小角刺藻生长过程中溶解游离氨基酸含量在海水中的变化

于1986年12月-1987年2月在温度为25±1℃下培养小角刺藻，以HPLC法测定该藻在培养过程中海水的溶解游离氨基酸（DFAA）含量变化。结果表明，小角刺藻不仅是海水中DFAA的主要生产者，而且也是DFAA的消耗者。小角刺藻不仅在缺乏硝酸盐的时候要吸收DFAA，即使在硝酸盐充足的情况下也会吸收。在小角刺藻的生长初期，水体中DFAA的含量迅速降低，而在后期却又大大增高。在小角刺藻的不同生长阶段，水体中DFAA的组成也不同。这些都可以说明海洋中DFAA的含量、组成和地区分布是密切地同浮游植物群落的繁殖消亡过程相关联的。     

春季水华对南黄海总溶解态无机砷生物地球化学行为的影响

利用氢化物发生-原子荧光光谱法(HG-AFS)对2007年3月30日至4月23日南黄海海域总溶解态无机砷(TDIAs,[TDIAs]=[As5+]+[As3+])的含量进行了测定,其中针对水华中心区域(BM1站)进行了25h的连续观测,以探讨春季水华对有毒类金属元素砷的生物地球化学行为的影响。结果表明,TDIAs的浓度范围为7.9~22.3nmol/L,平均值为(17.8±1.9)nmol/L。TDIAs在南黄海的分布主要表现为由近岸向外海逐渐升高的趋势,最大值出现在南部海域底层海水中。近岸海域表、底层TDIAs的含量相当,而中、南部海域由于存在明显的密度跃层,表、底层TDIAs的浓度具有显著性差异。2007年3月31日至4月1日研究区域西南部受到沙尘天气和降雨的影响,表层海水中TDIAs的含量显著升高。研究区域中、南部海域在观测期间暴发了典型的黄海春季水华,通过大面观测和对重点区域的连续观测可以发现,水华期间TDIAs的分布和磷酸盐类似,与Chl a呈现出较好的负相关关系(r=0.51,P0.05,n=39)。经初步计算,浮游植物水华对10m以上表层水体中TDIAs的清除量约为2.4nmol/L,占表层保有量的15%左右。通过箱式模型计算得出黄海TDIAs的停留时间约为(18.2±8.5)a,远远低于大洋。通过对该海域砷、磷摩尔比值的计算可以发现,南黄海砷、磷摩尔比值约为大洋中的20倍左右,这可能会引起浮游生物对砷酸盐的大量吸收和转化,从而带来潜在的生态危机,需要引起足够的重视。     

Glucose fluxes and concentrations of dissolved combined neutral sugars (polysaccharides) in the Ross Sea and Polar Front Zone, Antarctica

We hypothesized that dissolved carbohydrates would be large components of the labile dissolved organic carbon (DOC) pool and would support much bacterial growth in Antarctic waters, especially the Ross Sea, since previous work had observed extensive phytoplankton blooms with potentially high production rates of carbohydrates in Antarctic seas. These hypotheses were tested on cruises in the Ross Sea and Antarctic Polar Front Zone as part of the US JGOFS program. Concentrations and fluxes of free glucose (the only free sugar detected) were very low, but dissolved polysaccharides appeared to be important components of the DOC pool. Concentrations of dissolved combined neutral sugars increased >3-fold during the phytoplankton bloom in the Ross Sea and were a large fraction (ca. 50%) of the semi-labile fraction of DOC. The relatively high concentrations of dissolved combined neutral sugars, which are thought to be quite labile, appear to explain why DOC accumulated during the phytoplankton bloom was degraded so quickly once the bloom ended. Some of the polysaccharides appeared to be more refractory, however, since dissolved combined neutral sugars were observed in deep waters (>550 m) and in early spring (October) in the Ross Sea, apparently having survived degradation for >8 months. The molecular composition of these refractory polysaccharides differed from that of polysaccharides sampled during the phytoplankton bloom. Fluxes of DOC were low in the Ross Sea compared to standing stocks and fluxes of particulate material, but the DOC that did accumulate during the phytoplankton bloom appeared to be sugar-rich and relatively labile.     

围隔实验研究台湾海峡2005年夏季小型浮游动物对硅藻水华的摄食

为了研究小型浮游动物对近岸浮游植物藻华的摄食调控作用,于2005年7月,应用"稀释法"并结合高效液相色谱(HPLC)光合色素分析技术,研究了台湾海峡船基围隔实验条件下浮游植物生长率及小型浮游动物摄食率的日变动。结果表明:由于营养盐添加的影响,迅速形成了以尖刺伪菱形藻(Pseudo-nitzschia pungens)为优势种的藻华,生物量(叶绿素a)从实验初始7月6日的1.45μg/dm3迅速增加到7月8日的29.80μg/dm3,随后消退。镜检和光合色素分析的结果显示,实验期间一直以此硅藻占绝对优势。浮游植物的生长率在藻华峰值(7月8日)前保持了较高的生长速率(>1.0/d)且大于小型浮游动物的摄食率;小型浮游动物的摄食率也逐渐增加,7月7日时达到0.86/d,显示有57%以上的浮游植物现存量被摄食。7月8日后,水华迅速消退,摄食率除13日外,均大于浮游植物的生长率。小型浮游动物主要由急游虫(Strombidium spp.)、侠盗虫(Strobilidium spp.)等无壳纤毛虫、异养甲藻-螺旋环沟藻(Gyrodinium spirale)及砂壳纤毛虫等组成,其对浮游植物的生长迅速作出了反应,各类群的丰度在水华峰值后的7月9日均几达最大值,水华后期(11日)大型的无壳纤毛虫达最大值。小型浮游动物的这种组成及变动特点是其保持较高摄食率及一定程度上控制和促进藻华消退的原因之一。     

Environmental controls on phytoplankton community composition in the Thames plume,U.K.

The aim of this study was to investigate controls on the phytoplankton community composition and biogeochemistry of the estuarine plume zone of the River Thames, U.K. using an instrumented moored buoy for in situ measurements and preserved sample collection, and laboratory-based measurements from samples collected at the same site. Instrumentation on the moored buoy enabled high frequency measurements of a suite of environmental variables including in situ chlorophyll, water-column integrated irradiance, macronutrients throughout an annual cycle for 2001 e.g. nitrate and silicate, and phytoplankton biomass and species composition. The Thames plume region acts as a conduit for fluvial nutrients into the wider southern North Sea with typical winter concentrations of 45 μM nitrate, 17 μM silicate and 2 μM phosphate measured. The spring bloom resulted from water-column integrated irradiance increasing above 60 W h m^− 2 d^− 1 and was initially dominated by a diatom bloom mainly composed of Nitzschia sp. and Odontella sinesis. The spring bloom then switched after ∼ 30 days to become dominated by the flagellate Phaeocystis reaching a maximum chlorophyll concentration of 37.8 μg L^− 1. During the spring bloom there were high numbers of the heterotrophic dinoflagellates Gyrodinium spirale and Katodinium glaucum that potentially grazed the phytoplankton bloom. This diatom–flagellate switch was predicted to be due to a combination of further increasing water-column integrated irradiance > 100 W h m^− 2 d^− 1 and/or silicate reaching potentially limiting concentrations (< 1 μM). Post spring bloom, diatom dominance of the lower continuous summer phytoplankton biomass occurred despite the low silicate concentrations (Av. 0.7 μM from June–August). Summer diatom dominance, generally due to Guinardia delicatula, was expected to be as a result of microzooplankton grazing, dominated by the heterotrophic dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans, controlling 0.7–5.0 μm ‘flagellate’ fraction of the phytoplankton community with grazing rates up to 178% of ‘flagellate’ growth rate. The Thames plume region was therefore shown to be an active region of nutrient and phytoplankton processing and transport to the southern North Sea. The use of a combination of moorings and ship-based sampling was essential in understanding the factors influencing nutrient transport, phytoplankton biomass and species composition in this shelf sea plume region.