Effects of glacier melting on the planktonic communities of two Antarctic coastal areas (Potter Cove and Hope Bay) in summer

Garcia, Maximiliano Darío; Severini, Melisa D. Fernández; Spetter, Carla Vanesa; Abbate, M. Celeste López; Tartara, Matías Nicolás; Nahuelhual, Eugenia Gabriela; Marcovecchio, Jorge Eduardo; Schloss, Irene R; Hoffmeyer, Mónica S.

doi:10.1016/j.rsma.2019.100731

Cited by 17 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Additionally, the low values of mesozooplankton in some sampling dates of summer 2011 could be explained by the high levels of turbidity, produced by glacial meltwater. In Antarctic coastal zones, turbidity affects mesozooplanktonic organisms, such as euphausiids and copepods, modifying their distribution, decreasing their ingestion rates and feeding capacity [28,58,59] and producing episodes of mortality [26]. On the other hand, several studies in the WAP showed that food supply is among the most important factors controlling the dynamics of microzooplankton assemblages [18,27,60].…”

Section: Zooplankton Succession: Environmental Effects Vs Predator-prmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The last authors reported the existence of abrupt changes in sea surface temperature and salinity mostly related to climate cycles under the influence of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). These drivers influence micro and mesozooplankton assemblage dynamics both directly and indirectly [26][27][28] in PC during summer due to changes in the oceanographic conditions in the water column and the quality of the food available.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Micro- and mesozooplankton successions in an Antarctic coastal environment during a warm year

et al. 2020

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The rapid increase in atmospheric temperature detected in the last decades in the Western Antarctic Peninsula was accompanied by a strong glacier retreat and an increase in production of melting water, as well as changes in the sea-ice dynamic. The objective of this study was to analyze the succession of micro-and mesozooplankton during a warm annual cycle (December 2010-December 2011) in an Antarctic coastal environment (Potter Cove). The biomass of zooplankton body size classes was used to predict predator-prey size relationships (i.e., to test bottom-up/top-down control effects) using a Multiple Linear Regression Analysis. The micro-and mesozooplanktonic successions were graphically analyzed to detect the influence of environmental periods (defined by the degree of glacial melting, seaice freezing and sea-ice melting) on coupling/uncoupling planktonic biomass curves associated to possible predator-prey size relationship scenarios. At the beginning of the glacial melting, medium and large mesozooplankton (calanoid copepods, Euphausia superba, and Salpa thompsoni) exert a top-down control on Chl-a and microzooplankton. Stratification of the water column benefitted the availability of adequate food-size (Chl-a <20) for large microzooplankton (tintinnids) development observed during fall. High abundance of omnivores mesozooplankton (Oithona similis and furcilia of E. superba) during sea-ice freezing periods would be due to the presence of available heterotrophic food under or within the sea ice. Finally, the increase in microzooplankton abundance in the middle of spring, when seaice melting starts, corresponded to small and medium dinoflagellates and ciliates species, which were possibly part of the biota of sea ice. If glacier retreat continues and the duration and thickness of the sea ice layer fluctuates as predicted by climate models, our results predict a future scenario regarding the zooplankton succession in Antarctic coastal environments.

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Section: Zooplankton Succession: Environmental Effects Vs Predator-prmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Micro- and mesozooplankton successions in an Antarctic coastal environment during a warm year

et al. 2020

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“…In particular, in the northern WAP, due to the glacial meltwater runoff and stronger winds, associated with the most recent anthropogenic warming, have led to a decrease in chlorophyll concentration and average phytoplankton size (Montes-Hugo et al 2009;Garcia et al 2016Garcia et al , 2019. Thompson and Alder (2005) confirmed the low abundance in the WAP area.…”

Section: Microzooplankton Abundancementioning

confidence: 86%

“…Given that phytoplankton is at the base of the Antarctic trophic food web, variations in the autotrophic component should have significant consequences for the rest of the ecosystem. The changing phytoplankton composition and chlorophyll a trend (Montes-Hugo et al 2009) in the northern WAP promotes the decline in diatoms abundances and the contextual increase in abundance of smaller organisms, resulting in the dominance of nanophytoplankton (Mendes et al 2013;Sangrà et al 2014;Garcia et al 2019). This last evidence can affect the distribution and community composition of microzooplankton, as well as higher trophic levels.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial distribution of microzooplankton in different areas of the northern Antarctic Peninsula region, with an emphasis on tintinnids

et al. 2021

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The Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is experiencing rapid climate warming, resulting in affecting the marine food web. To investigate the microzooplankton spatial distribution and to assess how climate change could affect the tintinnids community, sea water samples were collected during late summer 2018 at 19 stations in three different areas: Deception Island, Elephant Island and Antarctic Sound. The microzooplankton community comprised mainly tintinnids, aloricate ciliates, heterotrophic dinoflagellates and micrometazoans. Microzooplankton abundance varied between 3 and 109 ind. L−1 and biomass ranged from 0.009 to 2.55 µg C L−1. Significant differences in terms of abundance and taxonomic composition of microzooplankton were found among the three sampling areas. Deception Island area showed 44% of tintinnids and the rest were heterotrophic dinoflagellate, aloricate ciliates and micrometazoans. In Elephant Island and Antarctic Sound areas, tintinnids reached, respectively, 73% and 83% of the microzooplankton composition, with all the other groups varying between 20 and 30%. Tintinnids were the most representative group in the area, with the species Codonellopsis balechi, Codonellopsis glacialis, Cymatocylis convallaria and Cymatocylis drygalskii. The highest amounts of tintinnids were found at the surface and 100 m depth. The above mentioned species may be considered key species for the WAP and therefore they can be used to track environmental and hydrographical changes in the area. In late summer, microzooplankton presented low abundances and biomass, nevertheless they represented an important fraction of the planktonic community in the area.

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Characterizing coastal phytoplankton seasonal succession patterns on the West Antarctic Peninsula

Nardelli

Gray

Stammerjohn

et al. 2023

Limnology & Oceanography

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In coastal West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) waters, large phytoplankton blooms in late austral spring fuel a highly productive marine ecosystem. However, WAP atmospheric and oceanic temperatures are rising, winter sea ice extent and duration are decreasing, and summer phytoplankton biomass in the northern WAP has decreased and shifted toward smaller cells. To better understand these relationships, an Imaging FlowCytobot was used to characterize seasonal (spring to autumn) phytoplankton community composition and cell size during a low (2017–2018) and high (2018–2019) chlorophyll a year in relation to physical drivers (e.g., sea ice and meteoric water) at Palmer Station, Antarctica. A shorter sea ice season with early rapid retreat resulted in low phytoplankton biomass with a low proportion of diatoms (2017–2018), while a longer sea ice season with late protracted retreat resulted in the opposite (2018–2019). Despite these differences, phytoplankton seasonal succession was similar in both years: (1) a large‐celled centric diatom bloom during spring sea ice retreat; (2) a peak summer phase comprised of mixotrophic cryptophytes with increases in light and postbloom organic matter; and (3) a late summer phase comprised of small (< 20 μm) diatoms and mixed flagellates with increases in wind‐driven nutrient resuspension. In addition, cell diameter decreased from November to April with increases in meteoric water in both years. The tight coupling between sea ice, meltwater, and phytoplankton species composition suggests that continued warming in the WAP will affect phytoplankton seasonal dynamics, and subsequently seasonal food web dynamics.

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Effects of glacier melting on the planktonic communities of two Antarctic coastal areas (Potter Cove and Hope Bay) in summer

Cited by 17 publications

References 53 publications

Micro- and mesozooplankton successions in an Antarctic coastal environment during a warm year

Micro- and mesozooplankton successions in an Antarctic coastal environment during a warm year

Spatial distribution of microzooplankton in different areas of the northern Antarctic Peninsula region, with an emphasis on tintinnids

Characterizing coastal phytoplankton seasonal succession patterns on the West Antarctic Peninsula

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