Phytoplankton diversity during the spring bloom in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea
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Isabella Percopo
,
Raffaele Siano
Abstract
The section of the Liguro-Provençal basin north of the Balearic Islands is one of the most productive sites in the whole Mediterranean Sea, with intense phytoplankton bloom lasting about 2 months in late winter-early spring. The phytoplankton species composition of the area was investigated using light and electron microscopy to analyze bottle and net samples collected at several stations in spring 2000 and 2003. Serial dilution cultures established from bottle samples were also examined. A total of 168 phytoplankton taxa was identified, consisting of 73 Coscinodiscophyceae, 47 Dinophyceae, 25 Coccolithophyceae and 4 Prymnesiophyceae, 5 Prasinophyceae, 3 Chrysophyceae, 2 Cryptophyceae, 2 Dictyochophyceae, 1 Euglenophyceae, 1 Pelagophyceae, 1 Choanoflagellidea, 1 Filosea and 3 incertae sedis. We also provided a brief taxonomic description and original micrographs for 25 of the smallest and/or less known species identified in the study area, which may go undetected during routine microscopical analysis of fixed samples. Among these, 10 species were recorded for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, confirming the need of detailed studies to reveal the biodiversity and biogeography of Mediterranean phytoplankton.
©2011 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
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Articles in the same Issue
- Research Articles
- Macroalgal competition and invasive success: testing competition in mixed canopies of Sargassum muticum and Saccharina latissima
- Temperature and salinity tolerances of geographically separated Phaeodactylum tricornutum Böhlin strains: maximum quantum yield of primary photochemistry, pigmentation, proline content and growth
- Phytoplankton diversity during the spring bloom in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea
- Taxonomic notes on Caribbean Neosiphonia and Polysiphonia (Ceramiales, Florideophyceae): five species from Florida, USA and Mexico
- Notes on the benthic marine algae of Puerto Rico. X. Additions to the flora
- Cloning and analysis of the full-length Rubisco large subunit (rbc L) cDNA from Ulva linza (Chlorophyceae, Chlorophyta)
- Identification of microRNA precursors in Bruguiera spp.
- A reclassification of Mycophycias ascophylli (Ascomycota) based on nuclear large ribosomal subunit DNA sequences
- Solute accumulation and osmotic adjustment characteristics of the mangrove Avicennia marina under NaCl-induced salinity stress
