Short-time scale variation of phytoplankton succession in Lisbon bay (Portugal) as revealed by microscopy cell counts and HPLC pigment analysis

Silva, Alexandra; Mendes, Carlos; Palma, S.; Brotas, Vanda

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2008.04.004

Cited by 19 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The dominance of diatoms in spring with their positively correlated contribution to total Chl a and negative correlation with temperature corroborate the study by Loureiro et al (2011) who suggest that the dominance of diatoms is caused by the cold and nutrient rich water mass supplied by upwelling: other studies report the same trend based on the upwelling conditions along Portuguese coast (Moita, 2001;Silva et al, 2008;Mendes et al, 2011). Indeed, mesocosm experiments using waters from the Algarve coast showed that when primary production is stimulated, diatoms proved to be the class most sensitive to nutrient enrichment (Edwards et al, 2005;Loureiro et al, 2005bLoureiro et al, , 2008.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Using CHEMTAX to evaluate seasonal and interannual dynamics of the phytoplankton community off the South-west coast of Portugal

Goela

Danchenko

Icely

et al. 2014

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

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a b s t r a c t CHEMTAX was used to assess the relative contribution of the main phytoplankton classes to the total concentration of Chlorophyll a (Chl a) from the waters off SW coast of Portugal. Sampling campaigns were carried out during all seasons from 2008 to 2012, at three stations located 2, 10 and 18 km from the coast. Samples were taken from the surface, mid-Secchi and Secchi depth, for the determination of Chl a and other phytoplanktonic pigments by HPLC. Supporting data were also obtained including dissolved inorganic nutrients, salinity, transparency, temperature and upwelling indices. The CHEMTAX results were also related to microscopy counts and also spectral analysis of absorption of other samples from the same sampling campaigns. The pigment results showed that diatoms dominated from early spring to summer, coinciding with upwelling conditions, while cryptophytes, prymnesiophytes and prasinophytes dominated in autumn and winter, coinciding with seasonal stratification. Although the contribution of cyanobacteria to total Chl a was generally low, there were occasional sampling campaigns where it was exceptionally high, but these appeared not to be related to upwelling. Dinoflagellates and chrysophytes were minority groups although the pigment marker peridinin that was used to distinguish dinoflagellates was not adequate for distinguishing all the members of this group. CHEMTAX was particularly useful for discriminating between the smaller (0e20 mm) classes of the microplankton that could not be easily identified by microscopy.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Using CHEMTAX to evaluate seasonal and interannual dynamics of the phytoplankton community off the South-west coast of Portugal

Goela

Danchenko

Icely

et al. 2014

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

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“…And, as we previously stated, there are valid indications that coastal zones could offer new hypothesis toward many of the still open questions in biology and ecology of this important phytoplankton group. Moreover, coccolithophores can indeed dominate continental shelves and river influenced coastal areas, where their distribution is governed by rapid changes in hydrodynamics, freshwater input and anthropogenic eutrophication (Balestra et al ; Silva et al a ; Bonomo et al ). Thus, it is of great importance to reveal the role of coccolithophores in ecological and biogeochemical functions of variable coastal habitats.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this study, the heterococcolith phase of S. mediterranea was present in the autumn-winter period and was positively related with nitrite and silicate, while the holococcolith phase was recorded in the late spring and negatively related to nitrite. Silva et al (2008b) described the S. mediterranea heterococcolith phase as a species that has a very wide range of tolerance to temperature and salinity. Moreover, in the light of these findings we might hypothesize that this species utilizes the phenotypic plasticity to cope with environmental variation in the nitrogen cycle.…”

Section: Life-cycle Parings: Heterococcolithophores and Holococcolithmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coastal zones as important habitats of coccolithophores: A study of species diversity, succession, and life‐cycle phases

Godrijan

Young

Pfannkuchen

et al. 2018

Limnology & Oceanography

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Coccolithophores are unicellular calcifying eukaryotes with a complex life‐cycle; they are important primary producers, and major drivers of global biogeochemical cycles. The majority of research on coccolithophores has been focused on open ocean waters, while the knowledge of their roles in coastal ecosystems is limited. Early 20th century studies of the Adriatic coast produced major taxonomic papers describing half of the projected diversity of coccolithophores. Afterwards, there have been only scarce records of their diversity and ecology in the Adriatic, and coastal systems in general. We aimed to assess coccolithophore diversity and species succession, and closely examine their ecological preferences in the coastal area of the northern Adriatic. We recorded coccolithophores throughout the year at 100% frequency, documented 52 taxa, abundances as high as 2.4 × 105 cells L−1, and noted the winter domination over the phytoplankton community. Out of 52 observed coccolithophore taxa, 31 were heterococcolithophorids and 21 holococcolithophorids. Moreover, seven pairs of heterococcolith and holococcolith phases were noted, and two strategies of temporal separation of life‐cycle phases were observed. We report ecological preferences of those life‐cycle pairs and give in situ evidence that holo‐ and heterococcolith phases are widening the specie's ecological niches. This expansion allows the species to exploit a wider range of ecological conditions and enables phenotypic plasticity, important in response to changes in the environment. With this study we emphasize that coastal areas are highly productive for coccolithophore studies. Our results indicate that a shift in research effort on coccolithophores in the coastal waters is needed.

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“…Although frequently reported in front of Tagus mouth (e.g. Ribeiro and Amorim 2008;Silva et al 2008), as well as in other stations further downstream of the Tagus estuary, the Fig. 5 Monthly averages of phytoplankton abundance (×10 3 cells L −1 ) and chlorophyll a concentration (μg L −1 ) in stations 3 (1980s) and 4 (1999)(2000).…”

Section: 'Smentioning

confidence: 98%

Changes in the Phytoplankton Composition in a Temperate Estuarine System (1960 to 2010)

Brito

Moita

Gameiro

et al. 2014

Estuaries and Coasts

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The main aim of this study was to evaluate the temporal changes in the phytoplankton community of the Tagus Estuary and to identify the stressors involved. Environmental and phytoplankton data were gathered from several studies conducted in the 1960s, 1980s and from 1999 to 2010 (2000s). Phytoplankton data included information on the community composition through microscopy. No significant change was found between temperature and nitrogen values in the three periods. Chlorophyll a concentrations varied throughout the years, and the lowest concentrations were observed after 2004. Significant differences were also found between phytoplankton cell abundances, lower in the 1980s compared to the ones recorded in the 2000s. In the 1980s, diatoms were the most abundant group in the majority of samples and were found to be associated with nitrogen concentrations (canonical correspondence analysis), which was not observed in the 2000s. In the period 2006-2007, the importance of diatoms decreased and smaller cells became more abundant (e.g. cryptophytes, euglenophytes, prasinophytes). The ratio cryptophyta/ bacillariophyta seems to yield an increase from <1 in 1980s to >1 in 2006-2007. Mesodinium rubrum and Dinophysis produce recurrent toxic blooms in the adjacent coastal area. We can speculate that the estuary can be a cryptophyte producer to sustain the cryptophytes-M. rubrum-Dinophysis trophic relationship. A top-down hypothesis (shellfish grazing) is considered to explain the change in the phytoplankton community. A quantitative tool, the Phytoplankton Community Index (PCI), yielded a significant deviation of the community, from the 1980s to the 2000s, suggesting a shift toward the dominance of small cells.

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Short-time scale variation of phytoplankton succession in Lisbon bay (Portugal) as revealed by microscopy cell counts and HPLC pigment analysis

Cited by 19 publications

References 19 publications

Using CHEMTAX to evaluate seasonal and interannual dynamics of the phytoplankton community off the South-west coast of Portugal

Using CHEMTAX to evaluate seasonal and interannual dynamics of the phytoplankton community off the South-west coast of Portugal

Coastal zones as important habitats of coccolithophores: A study of species diversity, succession, and life‐cycle phases

Changes in the Phytoplankton Composition in a Temperate Estuarine System (1960 to 2010)

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