Primary production in the eastern tropical Pacific: A review

The eastern tropical Pacific includes 28 million km² of ocean between 23.5°N and S and Central/South America and 140°W, and contains the eastern and equatorial branches of the north and South Pacific subtropical gyres plus two equatorial and two coastal countercurrents. Spatial patterns of primary production are in general determined by supply of macronutrients (nitrate, phosphate) from below the thermocline. Where the thermocline is shallow and intersects the lighted euphotic zone, biological production is enhanced. In the eastern tropical Pacific thermocline depth is controlled by three interrelated processes: a basin-scale east/west thermocline tilt, a basin-scale thermocline shoaling at the gyre margins, and local wind-driven upwelling. These processes regulate supply of nutrient-rich subsurface waters to the euphotic zone, and on their basis we have divided the eastern tropical Pacific into seven main regions. Primary production and its physical and chemical controls are described for each.Enhanced rates of macronutrient supply maintains levels of primary production in the eastern tropical Pacific above those of the oligotrophic subtropical gyres to the north and south. On the other hand lack of the micronutrient iron limits phytoplankton growth (and nitrogen fixation) over large portions of the open-ocean eastern tropical Pacific, depressing rates of primary production and resulting in the so-called high nitrate-low chlorophyll condition. Very high rates of primary production can occur in those coastal areas where both macronutrients and iron are supplied in abundance to surface waters. In these eutrophic coastal areas large phytoplankton cells dominate; conversely, in the open-ocean small cells are dominant. In a ‘shadow zone’ between the subtropical gyres with limited subsurface ventilation, enough production sinks and decays to produce anoxic and denitrified waters which spread beneath very large parts of the eastern tropical Pacific.Seasonal cycles are weak over much of the open-ocean eastern tropical Pacific, although several eutrophic coastal areas do exhibit substantial seasonality. The ENSO fluctuation, however, is an exceedingly important source of interannual variability in this region. El Niño in general results in a depressed thermocline and thus reduced rates of macronutrient supply and primary production. The multi-decadal PDO is likely also an important source of variability, with the ‘El Viejo’ phase of the PDO resulting in warmer and lower nutrient and productivity conditions similar to El Niño.On average the eastern tropical Pacific is moderately productive and, relative to Pacific and global means, its productivity and area are roughly equivalent. For example, it occupies about 18% of the Pacific Ocean by area and accounts for 22–23% of its productivity. Similarly, it occupies about 9% of the global ocean and accounts for 10% of its productivity. While representative, these average values obscure very substantial spatial and temporal variability that characterizes the dynamics of this tropical ocean.     

盐度和营养限制对蓝杆藻(Cyanothece. sp)113菌株生长和胞外多糖产量的影响

蓝杆藻113菌株为海洋微藻，实验室培养证明其单位体积胞外多糖产量高。用改进的F／2改良培养液培养，添加70g／L时的NaCl盐度是该菌株胞外多糖释放的最适盐度。不添加NaCl时的盐度是菌体细胞生长的最适盐度。NaNO2营养限制抑制该菌株细胞的生长，促进该菌株胞外多糖的释放。NaH2PO4营养限制抑制该菌株细胞的生长，但对胞外多糖产量的影响不明显。MgSO4营养限制则同时抑制该菌株细胞生长和胞外多糖释放。该研究结果有助于蓝杆藻113菌株胞外多糖的生产及该菌株其它方面的开发利用。     

A depocenter of organic matter at 7800 m depth in the SE Pacific Ocean

The Atacama trench, the deepest ecosystem of the southern Pacific Ocean (ca. 8000 m depth) was investigated during the Atacama Trench International Expedition. Sediments, collected at three bathyal stations (1040–1355 m depth) and at a hadal site (7800 m) were analyzed for organic matter quantity and biochemical composition (in terms of phytopigments, proteins, carbohydrates and lipids), bacterial abundance, biomass and carbon production and extracellular enzymatic activities. Functional chlorophyll-a (18.0±0.10 mg m⁻²), phytodetritus (322.2 mg m⁻²) and labile organic carbon (16.9±4.3 g C m⁻²) deposited on surface sediments at hadal depth (7800 m) reached concentrations similar to those encountered in highly productive shallow coastal areas. High values of bacterial C production and aminopeptidase activity were also measured (at in situ temperature and 1 atm). The chemical analyses of the Atacama hadal sediments indicate that this trench behaves as a deep oceanic trap for organic material. We hypothesize that, despite the extreme physical conditions, benthic microbial processes might be accelerated as a result of the organic enrichment.     

Nutrient budgets and trophic state in a hypersaline coastal lagoon: Lagoa de Araruama, Brazil

Lagoa de Araruama in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is a hypersaline lagoon with salinity varying spatially from 45 to 56. We collected water samples during monthly cruises throughout the lagoon, and along the streams feeding the system, from April 1991 to March 1992. Nutrients and other water quality parameters exhibited great spatial and temporal variations. Mass balance calculations indicate large amounts of anthropogenic nutrient inputs. The data indicate that the lagoon currently is oligotrophic but is in a state of transition to become a mesotrophic system. Molar dissolved inorganic nitrogen:dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIN/DIP) varied between 2.2:1 and 659:1 with a volume-weighted average of 22:1. The high DIN/DIP ratio contrasts with that found in nearby lagoons, suggesting that phytoplankton primary production is limited by phosphorus in Lagoa de Araruama. The major loss of DIP is apparently driven by biological assimilation and diagenic reactions in the sediments. Calculations indicate that the lagoon is slightly net autotrophic at +0.9 mol C m⁻² yr⁻¹. This suggests that the biomass of the primary producers is restricted by phosphorus availability. Phosphorus retention in the sediment and the hypersaline state of the lagoon prevent changes in autotrophic communities and the formation of eutrophic conditions.     

白令海夏季浮游细菌和原生动物生物量及分布特征

1999年7月21日至8月1日在我国首次北极科学考察期间,考察了白令海中部的浮游细菌和原生动物,分析了其丰度、分布、生物量及其生态作用,结果显示,浮游细菌表层生物量为1.5～20.2μg/dm3,平均为浮游植物生物量的30%,100m以上水柱柱总生物量(720～3123mg/m2)平均为浮游植物柱总生物量的67%,因而是白令海夏季与浮游植物处同等量级的优势类群;原生动物表层生物量为1.2～27.4μg/dm3,100m以上水柱柱总生物量为189～1698mg/m2,平均为浮游植物柱总生物量的21%,其中粒径小于5,5～20μm和大于20μm的原生动物分别占其柱总生物量的13%,47%和40%;作为主要类群的异养腰鞭毛虫占原生动物柱总生物量的39%.浮游细菌和原生动物生物量的总体分布趋势从西部向东北和东部递减、从表层向深层衰减,20～25m水层温跃层和表层海流的存在对这一分布特性可能有较大的影响.原生动物受潜在的大、中型浮游动物捕食压力的制约,维持了一个相对较低的生物量水平,在一定程度上限制了微食物环(microbial food loop)在该海域夏季生态系统营养中的作用.     

The European coastal zone: characterization and first assessment of ecosystem metabolism

The geomorphic, oceanographic, terrestrial and anthropogenic attributes of the European coastal zone are described and published data on ecosystem function (primary production and respiration) are reviewed. Four regions are considered: the Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and the European Atlantic coast including the North Sea. The metabolic database (194 papers) suffers from a non-homogeneous geographical coverage with no usable data for the Black Sea which was therefore excluded from this part of our study. Pelagic gross primary production in European open shelves is, by far, the most documented parameter with an estimated mean of 41 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹, the lowest value is reported in the Mediterranean Sea (21 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹) and the highest one in the Atlantic/North Sea area (51 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹). Microphytobenthic primary production, mostly measured in shallow areas, is extrapolated to the entire 0–200 m depth range. Its contribution to total primary production is low in all regions (mean: 1.5 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹). Although macrophyte beds are very productive, a regional production estimate is not provided in this study because their geographical distribution along the European coastline remains unknown. Measurements of pelagic community respiration are clearly too sparse, especially below the euphotic zone, to yield an accurate picture of the fate of organic matter produced in the water column. With a mean value of 17 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹, benthic community respiration consumes approximately 40% of the pelagic organic matter production. Estuaries generally exhibit high metabolic rates and a large range of variation in all parameters, except microphytobenthic primary production. Finally, the problem of eutrophication in Europe is discussed and the metabolic data obtained in the framework of the Land–Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) project are compared with available direct measurements of net ecosystem production.     

台湾海峡中、北部及邻近海域夏季浮游动物总生物量的分布特点

台湾海峡中、北部夏季浮游动物（非胶质）总生物量较丰富，1983年夏季的总生物量高于其他季节，1987年7、8月和1988年7月则高于1983年同期的生物量，这3a的高生物量分布区，一般都连片出现在上升流锋面区，显然和上升流的出现有密切关系。构成高生物量的优势种以外海广高盐种为主，生物量和高生物量区的分布态势都存在年际变化，这可能和不同性质水系的消长，相互推移及被囊动物的摄食竞争有关。     

Biokarst on Limestone Coasts, Morphogenesis and Sediment Production

Abstract. Biokarst-forms on limestone coasts are developed and arranged according to the bionomic zonation. The development of biokarst is the result of bioerosion, a synergistic effect of biological corrosion by endoliths and biological abrasion by grazers.
The cumulative effect of biogenic carbonate destruction leads to coastal destruction with a resulting highly profiled morphology on the limestone surfaces along the coastal profile. Under the influence of environmental factors a zonation of organisms develops which brings in turn a zonation of erosion rates (0.1-1.1 mm a^-1) resulting in biokarst-forms such as rock holes, rock pools and notches.
Products of bioerosion on limestone coasts are dissolved carbonate (by biological corrosion, 10–30% of the decomposed limestone) and particulate carbonate (by biological abrasion, 70–90% of the decomposed limestone) both of which contribute directly or indirectly to nearshore sedimentation. Size and shape of the bioerosional grains are determined by the boring pattern of the endoliths. The fine-grained sediments (maximum within the fraction 20–63 μm) contribute 3–25 % to the nearshore sediments.
Drastic changes in the biological zonation (like the mass invasion of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus in the Northern Adriatic since 1972 which eliminated nearly the entire macrophyte zone) due to unknown factors or pollution can have a profound effect on the bioerosion rates, altering them by as much as a factor of ten.