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Role of ciliates and other microzooplankton in the Irminger Sea (NW Atlantic Ocean)

Role of ciliates and other microzooplankton in the Irminger Sea (NW Atlantic Ocean)
Role of ciliates and other microzooplankton in the Irminger Sea (NW Atlantic Ocean)
This study focuses on a large region of the open ocean where we predict microzooplankton significantly influence foodweb structure over much of the year. The Irminger Sea exhibits low primary production that is generally poor for copepod production; in such waters ciliates and other microzooplankton can contribute significantly to the diets of holo- and mero- mesozooplankton and are major grazers of primary production. Surface plankton samples were collected during an extensive survey, across the basin and along one transect at several depths, over three seasons (winter, spring, summer), but not including the spring bloom. Microzooplankton and phytoplankton samples were fixed with Lugol’s solution and microscopically enumerated for species abundance; biomass was determined from cell volumes. Basin-scale distributions of abundance, biomass, and production were examined by geostatistical and multidimensional scaling methods. The dominance of the < 10 µm phytoplankton suggests that this should be a microzooplankton-dominated food web. Ciliates and heterotrophic dinoflagellates are abundant, in terms of numbers and biomass; heterotrophic dinoflagellates are more abundant than ciliates, but are less dominant in terms of biomass. Using ciliates as a proxy for all microzooplankton we suggest that there are seasonal patterns in occurrence, and there is no basin-scale patchiness related to hydrographic features. Through some simple, albeit “rough” calculations, we suggest that ciliate production may be sufficient to account for the removal of 15-30% of the < 10 µm primary production. If heterotrophic dinoflagellates were included in these estimates, they may be doubled (i.e. 30-60%). We, thus, contend that microzooplankton are major phytoplankton consumers in the system and should be carefully parameterised in models of this region.
0171-8630
101-115
Montagnes, David J.S.
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Allen, John T.
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Brown, Louise
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Bulit, Celia
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Davidson, Russell
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Fielding, Sophie
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Heath, Mike
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Holliday, N. Penny
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Rasmussen, Jens
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Sanders, Richard
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Waniek, Joanna
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Wilson, David I.
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Montagnes, David J.S.
11dad65e-b3bd-4874-954f-9ded0a1c02df
Allen, John T.
b251a62b-f443-4591-b695-9aa8c4d73741
Brown, Louise
72b27329-a2b7-46d8-8480-2f7f54cfc1c4
Bulit, Celia
f6600599-44ea-4e18-82f4-5a238e28d5c4
Davidson, Russell
b2448d11-f34c-43ee-bbf9-c82a00fff50b
Fielding, Sophie
b6810aca-528b-41d9-b23e-3e05647c5fab
Heath, Mike
4c9d0562-9e95-472c-9656-0365c5fd975c
Holliday, N. Penny
358b0b33-f30b-44fd-a193-88365bbf2c79
Rasmussen, Jens
729cce4b-edb9-44cf-9047-4a016f250bf0
Sanders, Richard
02c163c1-8f5e-49ad-857c-d28f7da66c65
Waniek, Joanna
e53d4f07-2e01-48f1-9a48-9a3858a7a1a1
Wilson, David I.
40e161bb-78e2-4dfc-afec-395e5d7e88c7

Montagnes, David J.S., Allen, John T., Brown, Louise, Bulit, Celia, Davidson, Russell, Fielding, Sophie, Heath, Mike, Holliday, N. Penny, Rasmussen, Jens, Sanders, Richard, Waniek, Joanna and Wilson, David I. (2010) Role of ciliates and other microzooplankton in the Irminger Sea (NW Atlantic Ocean). Marine Ecology Progress Series, 411, 101-115. (doi:10.3354/meps08646).

Record type: Article

Abstract

This study focuses on a large region of the open ocean where we predict microzooplankton significantly influence foodweb structure over much of the year. The Irminger Sea exhibits low primary production that is generally poor for copepod production; in such waters ciliates and other microzooplankton can contribute significantly to the diets of holo- and mero- mesozooplankton and are major grazers of primary production. Surface plankton samples were collected during an extensive survey, across the basin and along one transect at several depths, over three seasons (winter, spring, summer), but not including the spring bloom. Microzooplankton and phytoplankton samples were fixed with Lugol’s solution and microscopically enumerated for species abundance; biomass was determined from cell volumes. Basin-scale distributions of abundance, biomass, and production were examined by geostatistical and multidimensional scaling methods. The dominance of the < 10 µm phytoplankton suggests that this should be a microzooplankton-dominated food web. Ciliates and heterotrophic dinoflagellates are abundant, in terms of numbers and biomass; heterotrophic dinoflagellates are more abundant than ciliates, but are less dominant in terms of biomass. Using ciliates as a proxy for all microzooplankton we suggest that there are seasonal patterns in occurrence, and there is no basin-scale patchiness related to hydrographic features. Through some simple, albeit “rough” calculations, we suggest that ciliate production may be sufficient to account for the removal of 15-30% of the < 10 µm primary production. If heterotrophic dinoflagellates were included in these estimates, they may be doubled (i.e. 30-60%). We, thus, contend that microzooplankton are major phytoplankton consumers in the system and should be carefully parameterised in models of this region.

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Published date: 2010
Organisations: Marine Biogeochemistry, Marine Physics and Ocean Climate

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Local EPrints ID: 158173
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/158173
ISSN: 0171-8630
PURE UUID: 438548dc-43d4-4961-a39a-f17a35ddae50

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Date deposited: 16 Jun 2010 08:56
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 01:49

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Contributors

Author: David J.S. Montagnes
Author: John T. Allen
Author: Louise Brown
Author: Celia Bulit
Author: Russell Davidson
Author: Sophie Fielding
Author: Mike Heath
Author: N. Penny Holliday
Author: Jens Rasmussen
Author: Richard Sanders
Author: Joanna Waniek
Author: David I. Wilson

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