“…For example, Bellinger et al (2006) and Hardikar et al (2021) highlighted that the size fraction of producers, i.e., small versus large phytoplankton, could be used as a robust indicator of the trophic level of the system and the carbon transfer pathway. In our study, nutrients appeared as significant environmental discriminant factors of the stations, in which small and large phytoplankton played different roles in biogenic carbon production (MFA, Fig.…”