The Diatom Nitzschia sicula (Castr.) Hust. and Naupliar Faecal Minipellets in the Adriatic sea

Abstract. Nitzschia sicula (C astr .) H ust ., a planktonic pennate diatom, dominated the microphytoplankton (10⁴-5 times 10⁴ cells. 1^-1) in the central, oligotrophic Southern Adriatic Pit waters (20-50m layer) in May 1990. Nauplii dominated the microzooplankton (3 indiv. 1^-1in the 0-50m layer, 130 μm mean body length) and produced a considerable amount of faecal (mini)pellets (1900. 1^-1 at 50m, mean diameter 47μm), which were compactly filled with N. sicula frustules. The subsurface accumulation of diatoms and nauplii was probably the result of both productive activity under specific hydrographic conditions and the convergence in a relatively strong southern Adriatic cyclonic gyre; the advective transport of populations along the shear zone, at the boundary between water masses of different thermo-haline characteristics may also have played a role. The amount of minipellets was high if compared with the data available from other seas. This was probably due to high production of minipellets, their slow sinking rate, and/or an absence of manipulation of the faecal material by zooplankton.     

Surfactant production by marine phytoplankton

Electrochemical methods based on adsorption of organic molecules at the mercury electrode-solution interface were used to investigate surfactant production by marine phytoplankton. Six species of marine phytoplankton, representing the classes of Bacillariophyceae, Haeptophyceae, Chlorophyceae and Cryptophyceae, were studied in batch cultures.Our experimental results showed that surfactants were produced in culture media by healthy exponential growing cells. The measured response was found to depend on the particular species and the age of the culture.Total surfactant content in culture media generally increased with cell density, while surfactants per cell showed an inverse relation to cell density. However, we found that in Cryptomonas culture medium, during the exponential growth, excretion of the insoluble surfactant material per cell was independent of cell concentration.In addition to culture experiments, surfactant activity at several northern Adriatic stations was measured during various stages of phytoplankton bloom. It was concluded that a significant part of surfactant activity in a seawater column is due to phytoplankton production.     

Inter-decadal Variability in Phytoplankton Community in the Middle Adriatic (Kaštela Bay) in Relation to the North Atlantic Oscillation

Evaluation of a 45-year data set of primary production (PP), a 30-year data set of phytoplankton biomass, and a 51-year data set of species composition shows an increase of phytoplankton biomass and abundance in the period from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. Phytoplankton biomass showed bimodal seasonal cycles, with winter and spring maxima, which did not change over the past 30 years. Diatoms were the most abundant functional group and they prevailed during the colder part of the year while the dinoflagellate contribution to the phytoplankton community increased in the warmer period from May to August. Diatoms showed a significant negative correlation with sea surface temperature (SST), while dinoflagellates were positively correlated with SST. An increase of phytoplankton abundance, particularly dinoflagellate, in the period from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s coincided with years characterized by a high North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index. Primary production and chlorophyll a concentration in the spring period were negatively correlated with the NAO winter (DJFM) index, probably caused by increased precipitation associated with a low or negative NAO index. PP in winter during the mixing period was positively related to the NAO winter index associated with higher temperatures and dry conditions which brought more clear days and increased input of solar radiation.