The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Latitudinal changes in the standing stocks of nano- and picophytoplankton in the Atlantic Ocean

Latitudinal changes in the standing stocks of nano- and picophytoplankton in the Atlantic Ocean
Latitudinal changes in the standing stocks of nano- and picophytoplankton in the Atlantic Ocean
The latitudinal distributions of picoeukaryote phytoplankton (PEUK), coccolithophores (COCCO), cryptophytes (CRYPTO) and other nanoeukaryote phytoplankton (NEUK) were studied in the Atlantic Ocean between 49°N and 46°S in September–October 2003 and April–June 2004 by flow cytometry. Phytoplankton abundance and carbon (C) biomass varied considerably with latitude and down through the water column. Abundance and C biomass of all eukaryotic groups studied were highest in North and South Atlantic temperate waters and in the Mauritanian Upwelling off the west coast of Africa, where the total C biomass of eukaryotic phytoplankton smaller than 10 ?m reached almost 150 mg C m?3. Phytoplankton in the Equatorial Upwelling region was concentrated well below the surface at 50–80 m, with total C biomass in this layer being approximately 4 times that in the mixed layer. The North and South Atlantic Gyres supported much lower eukaryotic phytoplankton C biomass, with total eukaryote C biomass only reaching 2–3 mg C m?3, peaking below 100 m. Of the four eukaryote groups studied, the PEUK were the most abundant, reaching densities of up to 40,000 cells cm?3. They often contributed between 25% and 60% of total C biomass, particularly in the deep chlorophyll maxima of the different oceanic regions and also in the South Atlantic temperate waters, both in austral spring and autumn. NEUK also contributed significantly to C biomass. They generally dominated in the mixed layer, where they contributed 65–85% of total C biomass in the subtropical gyres and in North Atlantic temperate waters. CRYPTO and COCCO were generally less abundant. CRYPTO attained highest abundance in the Southern Temperate waters of over 500 cells cm?3 on both cruises. COCCO were often undetectable but on the European continental shelf abundance reached up to 2600 cells cm?3 during AMT 14. The C biomass standing stock of eukaryotic phytoplankton (<10 ?m) for the Atlantic Ocean as a whole was estimated to be 80 million tonnes C during AMT 13, approximately one-third of total phytoplankton C biomass in the Atlantic Ocean.
Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic Meridional Transect, fflow cytometry, nanoplankton, picoplankton, community composition
0967-0645
1516-1529
Tarran, G.A.
c6e9fb51-321c-4fb6-a2b0-00a58c344d73
Heywood, J.L.
4d5bb933-4925-4b14-9db3-bd0c7da927d4
Zubkov, M.V.
b1dfb3a0-bcff-430c-9031-358a22b50743
Tarran, G.A.
c6e9fb51-321c-4fb6-a2b0-00a58c344d73
Heywood, J.L.
4d5bb933-4925-4b14-9db3-bd0c7da927d4
Zubkov, M.V.
b1dfb3a0-bcff-430c-9031-358a22b50743

Tarran, G.A., Heywood, J.L. and Zubkov, M.V. (2006) Latitudinal changes in the standing stocks of nano- and picophytoplankton in the Atlantic Ocean. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 53 (14-16), 1516-1529. (doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2006.05.004).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The latitudinal distributions of picoeukaryote phytoplankton (PEUK), coccolithophores (COCCO), cryptophytes (CRYPTO) and other nanoeukaryote phytoplankton (NEUK) were studied in the Atlantic Ocean between 49°N and 46°S in September–October 2003 and April–June 2004 by flow cytometry. Phytoplankton abundance and carbon (C) biomass varied considerably with latitude and down through the water column. Abundance and C biomass of all eukaryotic groups studied were highest in North and South Atlantic temperate waters and in the Mauritanian Upwelling off the west coast of Africa, where the total C biomass of eukaryotic phytoplankton smaller than 10 ?m reached almost 150 mg C m?3. Phytoplankton in the Equatorial Upwelling region was concentrated well below the surface at 50–80 m, with total C biomass in this layer being approximately 4 times that in the mixed layer. The North and South Atlantic Gyres supported much lower eukaryotic phytoplankton C biomass, with total eukaryote C biomass only reaching 2–3 mg C m?3, peaking below 100 m. Of the four eukaryote groups studied, the PEUK were the most abundant, reaching densities of up to 40,000 cells cm?3. They often contributed between 25% and 60% of total C biomass, particularly in the deep chlorophyll maxima of the different oceanic regions and also in the South Atlantic temperate waters, both in austral spring and autumn. NEUK also contributed significantly to C biomass. They generally dominated in the mixed layer, where they contributed 65–85% of total C biomass in the subtropical gyres and in North Atlantic temperate waters. CRYPTO and COCCO were generally less abundant. CRYPTO attained highest abundance in the Southern Temperate waters of over 500 cells cm?3 on both cruises. COCCO were often undetectable but on the European continental shelf abundance reached up to 2600 cells cm?3 during AMT 14. The C biomass standing stock of eukaryotic phytoplankton (<10 ?m) for the Atlantic Ocean as a whole was estimated to be 80 million tonnes C during AMT 13, approximately one-third of total phytoplankton C biomass in the Atlantic Ocean.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: 2006
Keywords: Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic Meridional Transect, fflow cytometry, nanoplankton, picoplankton, community composition

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 41937
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/41937
ISSN: 0967-0645
PURE UUID: 3e46caff-f316-4cf1-bd49-bbe5ba880758

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 18 Oct 2006
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 08:41

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: G.A. Tarran
Author: J.L. Heywood
Author: M.V. Zubkov

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×