Phytoplankton assemblage patterns in the southern Mid-Atlantic Bight
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Carla P. Makinen
Abstract
As part of the Wallops Coastal Oceans Observing Laboratory (Wa-COOL) Project, we sampled a time-series transect in the southern Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) biweekly. Our 2-year time-series data included physical parameters, nutrient concentrations, and chlorophyll a concentrations. A detailed phytoplankton assemblage structure was examined in the second year. During the 2-year study, chlorophyll a concentration (and ocean color satellite imagery) indicated that phytoplankton blooms occurred in January/February during mixing conditions and in early autumn under stratified conditions. The chlorophyll a concentrations ranged from 0.25 μg l-1 to 15.49 μg l-1 during the 2-year period. We were able to discriminate approximately 116 different species under phase contrast microscopy. Dominant phytoplankton included Skeletonema costatum, Rhizosolenia spp., and Pseudo-nitzschia pungens. In an attempt to determine phytoplankton species competition/succession within the assemblage, we calculated a Shannon Weaver diversity index for our diatom microscopy data. Diatom diversity was greatest during the winter and minimal during the spring. Diatom diversity was also greater at nearshore stations than at offshore stations. Individual genera appeared patchy, with surface and subsurface patches appearing abruptly and persisting for only 1–2 months at a time. The distribution of individual species differed significantly from bulk variables of the assemblage (chlorophyll a) and total phytoplankton assemblage (cells), which indicates that phytoplankton species may be limited in growth in ways that differ from those of the total assemblage. Our study demonstrated a highly diverse phytoplankton assemblage throughout the year, with opportunistic species dominating during spring and fall in response to seasonal changes in temperature and nutrients in the southern MAB.
©2012 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
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Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Research Articles
- Phytoplankton assemblage patterns in the southern Mid-Atlantic Bight
- A checklist of marine fungi of Taiwan with a description of Kitesporella keelungensis gen. et sp. nov
- First report of the alien brown alga Botrytella parva (Takamatsu) H.-S. Kim (Chordariaceae, Phaeophyceae) from the eastern Mediterranean Sea
- Molecular systematic reassessment of Sargassum (Fucales, Phaeophyceae) in Korea using four gene regions
- Deep-water macroalgal-dominated coastal detritic assemblages on the continental shelf off Mallorca and Menorca (Balearic Islands, Western Mediterranean)
- The photosynthetic characteristics of red coralline algae, determined using pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) fluorometry
- Effects of ocean acidification on different life-cycle stages of the kelp Laminaria hyperborea (Phaeophyceae)
- Effect of heating and probiotic fermentation on the phytochemical content and antioxidant potential of edible Irish brown seaweeds
- Seasonal variation in the polyamines of Ecklonia maxima
- Short communication
- The invasive seaweed Sargassum filicinum (Fucales, Phaeophyceae) is on the move along the Mexican Pacific coastline
