Climate change pressures will influence marine planktonic systems globally, and it is conceivable that harmful algal blooms may increase in frequency and severity. These pressures will be manifest as alterations in temperature, stratification, light, ocean acidification, precipitation-induced nutrient inputs, and grazing, but absence of fundamental knowledge of the mechanisms driving harmful algal blooms frustrates most hope of forecasting their future prevalence. Summarized here is the consensus of a recent workshop held to address what currently is known and not known about the environmental conditions that favor initiation and maintenance of harmful algal blooms. There is expectation that harmful algal bloom (HAB) geographical domains should expand in some cases, as will seasonal windows of opportunity for harmful algal blooms at higher latitudes. Nonetheless there is only basic information to speculate upon which regions or habitats HAB species may be the most resilient or susceptible. Moreover, current research strategies are not well suited to inform these fundamental linkages. There is a critical absence of tenable hypotheses for how climate pressures mechanistically affect HAB species, and the lack of uniform experimental protocols limits the quantitative cross-investigation comparisons essential to advancement. A HAB “best practices” manual would help foster more uniform research strategies and protocols, and selection of a small target list of model HAB species or isolates for study would greatly promote the accumulation of knowledge. Despite the need to focus on keystone species, more studies need to address strain variability within species, their responses under multifactorial conditions, and the retrospective analyses of long-term plankton and cyst core data; research topics that are departures from the norm. Examples of some fundamental unknowns include how larger and more frequent extreme weather events may break down natural biogeographic barriers, how stratification may enhance or diminish HAB events, how trace nutrients (metals, vitamins) influence cell toxicity, and how grazing pressures may leverage, or mitigate HAB development. There is an absence of high quality time-series data in most regions currently experiencing HAB outbreaks, and little if any data from regions expected to develop HAB events in the future. A subset of observer sites is recommended to help develop stronger linkages among global, national, and regional climate change and HAB observation programs, providing fundamental datasets for investigating global changes in the prevalence of harmful algal blooms. Forecasting changes in HAB patterns over the next few decades will depend critically upon considering harmful algal blooms within the competitive context of plankton communities, and linking these insights to ecosystem, oceanographic and climate models. From a broader perspective, the nexus of HAB science and the social sciences of harmful algal blooms is inadequate and prevents quantitative assessment of impacts of futur...

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Meltwater discharge from tidewater glaciers impacts the adjacent marine environment. Due to the global warming, tidewater glaciers are retreating and will eventually terminate on land. Yet, the mechanisms through which meltwater runoff and subglacial discharge from tidewater glaciers influence marine primary production remain poorly understood, as data in close proximity to glacier fronts are scarce. Here, we show that subglacial meltwater discharge and bedrock characteristics of the catchments control the phytoplankton growth environment inside the fjord, based on data collected in close proximity to tidewater glacier fronts in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard from 26 to 31 July 2017. In the southern part of the inner fjord, glacial meltwater from subglacial discharge was rich in fine sediments derived from erosion of Devonian Old Red Sandstone and carbonate rock deposits, limiting light availability for phytoplankton (0.6 mg m −3 Chl a on average, range 0.2-1.9 mg m −3). In contrast, coarser sediments derived from gneiss and granite bedrock and lower subglacial discharge rates were associated with more favourable light conditions facilitating a local phytoplankton bloom in the northern part of the inner fjord with mean Chl a concentration of 2.8 mg m −3 (range 1.3-7.4 mg m −3). In the northern part, glacier meltwater was a direct source of silicic acid through weathering of the silica-rich gneiss and granite bedrock. Upwelling of the subglacial freshwater discharge plume at the Kronebreen glacier front in the southern part entrained large volumes of ambient, nutrient-rich bottom waters which led to elevated surface concentrations of ammonium, nitrate, and partly silicic acid. Total dissolved inorganic nitrogen transported to the surface with the upwelling of the subglacial discharge plume has a significant potential to enhance summer primary production in Kongsfjorden, with ammonium released from the seafloor being of particular importance. The transition from tidewater to land-terminating glaciers may, thus, reduce the input of nutrients to the surface layer with negative consequences for summer productivity.

In littoral sediments, microphytobenthic (MPB) nitrogen assimilation often exceeds nitrogen removal by denitrification, partly because MPB activity suppresses denitrification. Little is known about the balance between these two processes at sublittoral depths. Benthic pigment composition, light and dark oxygen, and nutrient fluxes (NO 3 Ϫ , NH 4 ϩ , dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), PO , Si(OH) 4 ), as well as denitrification were measured between 1 and 3Ϫ 4 15 m in depth in Gullmar Fjord (Skagerrak) in spring and autumn. The hypothesis was that the assimilation/ denitrification ratio would decrease with depth, along with decreasing MPB activity caused by light limitation. MPB photosynthesis occurred along the entire depth gradient, although sediments were net autotrophic only above 5 m. Inorganic nitrogen (DIN) (and silica) flux changed along the depth gradient, the general pattern being sediment uptake at Յ5 m and efflux at Ն10 m depth. DON flux (ϳ50% of total dissolved nitrogen flux) showed a less clear pattern. Two trends regarding DIN fluxes and denitrification-significant light effects and negative correlations with gross primary productivity-showed that MPB activity influenced nitrogen (N) turnover. Although denitrification increased with depth, rates remained low (Ͻ0.4 mmol N m Ϫ2 d Ϫ1 ), and MPB assimilation (0.2-3.6 mmol N m Ϫ2 d Ϫ1 ) exceeded or equaled denitrification. MPB incorporated ϳ35% of the remineralized N along the depth gradient, whereas denitrification removed ϳ20%. Thus, the influence of MPB on benthic nitrogen turnover, denitrification included, extends to sublittoral depths. Further, denitrification does not necessarily remove more N in the deeper, heterotrophic part of the photic zone, compared to the littoral, autotrophic zone.

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We followed the fatty acid composition of particulate organic matter (POM) in a High Arctic fjord (79°N; Svalbard, Norway) during and after the spring bloom. The content of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) was highest (45% of total fatty acids) at the beginning of the bloom, well before the biomass maximum, and decreased linearly towards the end (30%). During the postbloom period, the concentrations of PUFAs remained stable, between 25% and 30%. Redundancy analysis was used to identify the environmental factors that explained the observed variability in the fatty acid composition of phytoplankton. A particular emphasis was put on the potential influence of high irradiances. During the spring bloom, nutrient availability (Si and N), as well as shifts in phytoplankton community composition and chlorophyll a, were shown to account for much of the pattern in fatty acid composition. During the postbloom period, particularly during periods of stratification, light had a pronounced effect on the fatty acid composition. In general, we found a decrease in the relative amount of PUFAs under high light intensities and nutrient limitation.Résumé : Nous avons suivi la composition en acides gras de la matière organique particulaire (POM) dans un fjord du haut-arctique (79EN, Svalbard, Norvège) avant et après la prolifération printanière des algues. La concentration d'acides gras polyinsaturés (PUFA) essentiels est maximale (45 % des acides gras totaux) au début de la période de proliféra-tion, bien avant le maximum de biomasse; elle décline ensuite linéairement jusqu'à la fin (30%). Durant la période qui suit la prolifération, les concentrations de PUFA restent stables, à 25-30 %. Une analyse de redondance permet d'identifier les facteurs du milieu qui expliquent la variabilité observée de la composition en acides gras du phytoplancton. Nous nous intéressons en particulier au rôle potentiel des fortes irradiations. Durant la prolifération printanière, la disponibilité des nutriments (Si et N), de même que les changements de composition de la communauté phytoplanctonique et de la chlorophylle a, expliquent en grande partie les patrons de composition en acides gras. Après la prolifération, surtout durant les périodes de stratification, la lumière a un effet marqué sur la composition en acides gras. En général, il se produit une diminution de la quantité relative de PUFA dans les conditions de fortes intensité lumineuse et de limitation des nutriments.[Traduit par la Rédaction] Leu et al. 2779

This paper reviews the composition, biogeography and zonation of benthic algae in Arctic and Antarctic polar regions. There is a marked contrast in the literature between the amount of information on microalgae vs. macroalgae. Perhaps not surprising in view of their size and conspicuous nature, the macroalgae are better known than the microalgae and they have been studied more intensively. Macroalgal biodiversity is greater in Antarctica than in the Arctic, as is the number of endemic species. Both these characteristics of the Antarctic marine macroalgal flora can be explained by the biogeographical histories of the regions. In contrast, endemism amongst Arctic and Antarctic benthic microalgae is generally considered to be low; however, there is very little evidence to support this and further molecular research is needed to document and clarify the biodiversity of marine benthic microalgae of both polar regions. The zonation or local distribution of polar macroalgae and microalgae is influenced by physiological, morphological, chemical and ecological characteristics that determine responses to a range of environmental factors, including the ability to resist and survive algal grazing. Typically, the lower depth distribution limit elevates with increasing latitude.

The effects on UVB radiation on a subtidal, cohesive-sediment biofilm dominated by the diatom Gyrosigma balticum (Ehrenberg) Rabenhorst were investigated. Chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (F v /F m , PSII ), pigment concentrations, cell densities, and carbohydrate fractions were measured in four treatments (no UVBR, ambient UVBR, ؉7%, and ؉15% enhancement with UVBR). Enhanced UVBR was provided by a computer-controlled system directly linked to natural diel UVBR levels. Increases in PSII values in the UVBR-enhanced treatments and a decrease in the steady-state fluorescence yield (F s ) from the surface of the biofilms during the middle and latter part of daily exposure periods suggested that G. balticum responded to enhanced UVBR by migrating down into the sediment. Diatoms in the ؉15% UVBR treatment also had significantly higher concentrations of ␤-carotene after 5 days of treatment. Although G. balticum responded to enhanced UVBR by migration and increased ␤carotene concentrations, significant reduction in maximum quantum yield of PSII (F v /F m ) and in minimal fluorescence (F o ) and decreases in cell densities occurred after 5 days. Concentrations of different carbohydrate fractions (colloidal carbohydrate, glucan, exopolymers [EPS]) associated with diatom biomass and motility also decreased in the UVBR-enhanced treatments. Short-term responses (migration) to avoid UVBR appear insufficient to prevent longer-term decreases in photosynthetic potential and biofilm carbohydrate concentration and biomass.