Nutrient supply controls picoplankton community structure during three contrasting seasons in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea

Mouriño‐Carballido, Beatriz; Hojas, E.; Cermeño, Pedro; Chouciño, P.; Fernández-Castro, B.; Latasa, Mikel; Marañón, Emilio; Morán, Xosé Anxelu G.; Vidal, Montserrat

doi:10.3354/meps11558

Cited by 42 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…In theory, deeper samples should experience higher nutrient supply. Mouriño-Carballido et al (2016) found a negative relationship between nutrient supply (deeper samples) and cell size of Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus and small picoeukaryotes, a result consistent with ours in the case of the picoeukaryotes but not for the prokaryotes. Finally, Falkowski and Owens (1980) reported a clear decrease in size with light limitation in two large species of phytoplankton.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Distribution of phytoplankton groups within the deep chlorophyll maximum

Latasa

Cabello

Morán

et al. 2016

Limnology & Oceanography

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The fine vertical distribution of phytoplankton groups within the deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) was studied in the NE Atlantic during summer stratification. A simple but unconventional sampling strategy allowed examining the vertical structure with ca. 2 m resolution. The distribution of Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus, chlorophytes, pelagophytes, small prymnesiophytes, coccolithophores, diatoms, and dinoflagellates was investigated with a combination of pigment-markers, flow cytometry and optical and FISH microscopy. All groups presented minimum abundances at the surface and a maximum in the DCM layer. The cell distribution was not vertically symmetrical around the DCM peak and cells tended to accumulate in the upper part of the DCM layer. The more symmetrical distribution of chlorophyll than cells around the DCM peak was due to the increase of pigment per cell with depth. We found a vertical alignment of phytoplankton groups within the DCM layer indicating preferences for different ecological niches in a layer with strong gradients of light and nutrients. Prochlorococcus occupied the shallowest and diatoms the deepest layers. Dinoflagellates, Synechococcus and small prymnesiophytes preferred shallow DCM layers, and coccolithophores, chlorophytes and pelagophytes showed a preference for deep layers. Cell size within groups changed with depth in a pattern related to their mean size: the cell volume of the smallest group increased the most with depth while the cell volume of the largest group decreased the most. The vertical alignment of phytoplankton groups confirms that the DCM is not a homogeneous entity and indicates groups' preferences for different ecological niches within this layer.The deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) is a subsurface layer enriched in chlorophyll (Chl) typical of stratified marine and freshwater bodies. It might be the result of diverse processes and may present different characteristics (Cullen 1982(Cullen , 2015. In temperate areas, the DCM disappears in winter when mixing takes place and reappears after the spring bloom, when stratification is established. The dynamics of this kind of DCM have been described in the literature (Estrada et al. 1993;Mignot et al. 2014). Briefly, winter surface waters replete with nutrients start stratifying after the air-water heat balance becomes negative (Sverdrup 1953;Taylor and Ferrari 2011) producing the spring bloom in temperate areas (although this classical approach has been challenged by Behrenfeld 2010). At this moment, the abundant phytoplankton accumulates very close to the surface, limiting the irradiance immediately below and inducing the synthesis of pigments by the deeper phytoplankton and the formation of a shallow DCM that might not correspond to a biomass maximum. However, this is a very dynamic situation because phytoplankton quickly (days-weeks) consume the nutrients from the well illuminated layers becoming less abundant at surface and concentrating at depth. This process originates a deeper DCM, coinciding with the nutricline ...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Distribution of phytoplankton groups within the deep chlorophyll maximum

Latasa

Cabello

Morán

et al. 2016

Limnology & Oceanography

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“…This prediction could be in conflict with observations of decline in ocean productivity governed by increased water column-stratification (Bouman et al, 2011). A shift in the community toward increasing dominance of picoeukaryotes will require additional nutrients inputs, as picoeukaryotes abundance in this study were positively related to nutrients concentration, as described for the Pacific Ocean (Blanchot et al, 2001) and to oceanic nutrient supply (Mouriño-Carballido et al, 2016). Our prediction of increasing dominance of Prochlorococcus is in agreement with models based on increased thermal stratification in the oligotrophic ocean, forecasting a decrease in total biomass and mean cell phytoplankton size (Acevedo-Trejos et al, 2014).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 79%

Projected Changes in Photosynthetic Picoplankton in a Warmer Subtropical Ocean

et al. 2019

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“…This new finding might be associated with the DIN concentrations measured during this study (Figure ) being less than those obtained during the autumn cruises performed in 2005 by Qiu et al (). Mourio‐Carballido et al () reported that the highest abundances Synechococcus (the PE‐rich group) were seen at intermediate levels of nitrate supply, and small picoeukaryotic groups increased their abundance under high‐nutrient supply, in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. The work by Pinckney et al () also supports the view that phytoplankton blooms result from nutrient inputs in conjunction with increased freshwater in the Neuse River Estuary.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short‐Term Phytoplankton Dynamics During Typhoon Season in and Near the Pearl River Estuary, South China Sea

et al. 2019

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The effect on phytoplankton dynamics of nutrient inputs from rivers within the highly eutrophic Pearl River Estuary (PRE) in China is well understood. However, the role that typhoons play in enhancing or reducing phytoplankton blooms is less well known. The primary factors controlling phytoplankton dynamics in the PRE in June-July 2009 were determined by coupling satellite remote sensing data with field observations during two successive typhoons: Nangka and Soudelor. The results revealed that the magnitude of chlorophyll a concentration (Chl) near the PRE was controlled by several key factors.(1) Vertical mixing of seawater induced by Typhoons Nangka and Soudelor led to a sudden decrease in Chl and phytoplankton abundance near the PRE, especially in picophytoplankton. (2) Following the typhoon events, increased nutrient availability associated with significant freshwater runoff promoted phytoplankton (especially Synechococcus) growth, recovery, and blooms in and near the PRE. (3) Increased freshwater input or easterly winds enhanced the extension of highly abundant phytoplankton with brackish water from the estuary into the adjacent nearshore water. (4) Phycocyanin-rich Synechococcus was endemic and a dominant picophytoplankton group in the estuarial brackish water. We propose a mechanism that describes the interactions of vertical mixing, terrestrial precipitation, freshwater discharge, nutrient inputs, and winds on short-term phytoplankton dynamics in and near the PRE during typhoon season.

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Nutrient supply controls picoplankton community structure during three contrasting seasons in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea

Abstract: Picoplankton (ca. < 2 µm in diameter) are the most abundant organisms in the ocean. They often dominate planktonic biomass and primary production (Chis holm 1992, Marañón 2015, and could represent

Cited by 42 publications

References 73 publications

Distribution of phytoplankton groups within the deep chlorophyll maximum

Distribution of phytoplankton groups within the deep chlorophyll maximum

Projected Changes in Photosynthetic Picoplankton in a Warmer Subtropical Ocean

Short‐Term Phytoplankton Dynamics During Typhoon Season in and Near the Pearl River Estuary, South China Sea

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