Ecology and trophic preference of picoplankton and nanoplankton in the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Bay, southeast coast of India

Phytoplankton size structure in the southern Bay of Bengal modified by the Summer Monsoon Current and associated eddies: Implications on the vertical biogenic flux

“…The general feature evident in the present study is the predominance of smaller phytoplankton size fraction in the entire Southern Bay of Bengal whereas larger size fractions occur in higher percentage in regions where high nutrient concentrations are available in the surface waters. The pattern in the percentage contribution of different size fractions to the total chlorophyll biomass observed in the present study was similar to the observations made in the adjacent Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay, southeast coast of India, where the contribution of the smaller fraction of the phytoplankton to the total phytoplankton biomass was found to be predominant in regions were nitrate and silicate concentrations were relatively low (b0.5 μM) Jyothibabu et al, 2013). The significance of smaller fractions of phytoplankton in the Bay of Bengal, though based on limited observations, was reported recently using flow cytometer and HPLC pigment characterization (Mitbavkar and Anil, 2011;Naik et al, 2011), which also strongly support the present observation.…”

“…This measurement is a direct method, though laborious, to estimate the relative contribution of various size classes of phytoplankton to the total chlorophyll biomass in marine environments. The body size-based fractionation of chlorophyll was carried out following the standard serial filtration method (Iriarte and Purdie, 1994;Jyothibabu et al, 2013;Madhu et al, 2010). This procedure includes collection and filtration of 2 L of water samples from discrete depths (surface, 10, 20, 30, 40, 60, 80, and 100 m) and step wise filtration through different filters (Madhu et al, 2010;Jyothibabu et al, 2013 for detailed methodology).…”

“…The body size-based fractionation of chlorophyll was carried out following the standard serial filtration method (Iriarte and Purdie, 1994;Jyothibabu et al, 2013;Madhu et al, 2010). This procedure includes collection and filtration of 2 L of water samples from discrete depths (surface, 10, 20, 30, 40, 60, 80, and 100 m) and step wise filtration through different filters (Madhu et al, 2010;Jyothibabu et al, 2013 for detailed methodology). The size-based phytoplankton fractions thus separated on suitable filters were estimated following the same analytical procedure used for measuring the total chlorophyll concentration described in the previous paragraph.…”

Spatio-temporal variability of hydro-chemical characteristics of coastal waters of Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve (GoMMBR), South India

“…1). The submerged chain of Islands in the Palk Strait and Mannar Island act as physical barriers between GoM and PB (Jyothibabu et al 2013), which limits the water and sediments exchange. As a result, the hydrography of the GoM is influenced by the AS waters and PB is influenced by the BoB waters (Murty and Varma 1964;Jyothibabu et al 2013).…”

“…The submerged chain of Islands in the Palk Strait and Mannar Island act as physical barriers between GoM and PB (Jyothibabu et al 2013), which limits the water and sediments exchange. As a result, the hydrography of the GoM is influenced by the AS waters and PB is influenced by the BoB waters (Murty and Varma 1964;Jyothibabu et al 2013). The climatology of this area has been indulgenced into four seasons in a year, i.e., (1) summer (April-May), (2) southwest (SW) monsoon (June-September), (3) northeast (NE) monsoon (October-December) and (4) post-monsoon (JanuaryMarch).…”