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Ross Sea Ecology pp 171–180Cite as

Microbial Biomass and Respiratory Activity Related to the Ice-Melting Upper Layers in the Ross Sea (Antarctica)

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Abstract

In late austral spring 1994, a study was carried out in the Ross Sea, with sampling in the ice-free, ice-covered and marginal ice zones. Samples were taken along two transverse transects, to determine spatial variations in some microbiological parameters. Some stations were repeatedly sampled to study the temporal development of microbial components. Microbial biomass was measured as fractionated ATP in the following size categories: micro- (250–10µm), nano- (10–2µm) and picoplankton (2–0.2µm); bacterial biomass was estimated on the basis of lipopolisac-charide concentration and microbial respiratory rate was estimated by the Electron Transport System activity of organisms <200 µm.

Microbial ATP ranged from 4.37 to 628.74 µgm-3, with high values always associated with the upper 50-m depth; depth integrated biomass ranged from 0.283 to 9.217gCm-2. Biomass structure was dominated by microplankton-sized organisms (mean 59.2 and 50.3% of total biomass in ice-free and ice-covered zones, respectively). At the station with the highest standing stock, microbial biomass represented 84.4% of the total. Picoplankton biomass exceeded nanoplankton biomass in the ice-covered zone and during the evolution of the marginal ice zone. Bacterial biomass from LPS measurements ranged from 0.152 to 1.278 mg Cm-3, with higher depth-integrated values in the ice-covered zone (22% of total microbial biomass) compared to the ice-free zone (2.5% of total microbial biomass). Intermediate values were found in the marginal ice zone. Respiration ranged from 0.017 to 0.734 ml 02 h-1 m-3 with no significant differences in the depth integrated values in the three zones. Low respiratory losses of carbon occurred at equivalents of 5.1% day-1 and <1% day-1 of the microbial carbon biomass in ice-covered and ice-free zones, respectively. The repeated sampling of some stations revealed that the early ice-free zones supported rapid changes of microbial biomass with variations among micro-, nano- and picoplank-tonic organism ratios.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto Sperimentale Talassografica, CNR, Spianata S. Raineri 86, 98100, Messina, Italy

    L. S. Monticelli

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  1. E. Crisafi
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  2. F. Azzaro
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  3. R. La Ferla
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  4. L. S. Monticelli
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto di Scienze Ambientali Marine, Università di Genova, Viale Benedetto XV 5, I-16132, Genova, Italia

    Francesco Maria Faranda

  2. Dipartimento di Biologia ed Ecologia Marina, Università di Messina, Salita Sperone 31, I-98166, Messina-S. Agata, Italia

    Letterio Guglielmo

  3. Stazione Zoologica “Anton Dohrn”, Villa Comunale, I-80121, Napoli, Italia

    Adrianna Ianora

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Crisafi, E., Azzaro, F., La Ferla, R., Monticelli, L.S. (2000). Microbial Biomass and Respiratory Activity Related to the Ice-Melting Upper Layers in the Ross Sea (Antarctica). In: Faranda, F.M., Guglielmo, L., Ianora, A. (eds) Ross Sea Ecology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59607-0_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59607-0_14

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-64048-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-59607-0

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