Summary
During the austral summer of 1975–76 and winter of 1977 benthic and water column chlorophyll a and phaeopigments were measured at several sites along the east and west sides of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Estimates of in situ primary productivity were made at some McMurdo Sound locations. Additionally, water column samples were collected at 5 stations in the Ross Sea during January, 1976. Standing stock data are analyzed to identify seasonal and spatial patterns. Variability in algal standing stock was related to ambient light levels and appeared to be mediated by ice and snow cover whereby the highest algal standing stock was present under high light conditions (low ice and snow cover, shallow water, summer). Differences in published benthic invertebrate densities appear to be closely allied to differences in benthic primary production, and less so to in situ planktonic ice microalgal production.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barry JP, Dayton PK (submitted) Current patterns in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica and their relationship to local benthic communities. Limnol Oceanogr
Bunt JS (1964) Primary productivity undersea of ice in Antarctic waters. 1. Concentrations and photosynthetic activities of Antarctic marine microalgae. Antarct Res Ser 1:13–26
Bunt JS (1964) Primary productivity of undersea ice in Antarctic waters. 2. Influence of light and other factors on photosynthetic activities of Antarctic marine microalgae. Antarct Res Ser 1:27–31
Bunt JS, Lee CC (1970) Seasonal primary production in Antarctic sea ice at McMurdo Sound in 1967. J Mar Res 28:304–320
Dayton PK (1979) Observations of growth, dispersal and population dynamics of some sponges in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. In: Levi C, Boury-Esnault N (eds) Biologie des Spongiaires, vol 291. Colloques Internationaux du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, pp 271–282
Dayton, PK, Oliver JS (1977) Antarctic soft bottom benthos in oligotrophic and eutrophic environments. Science 197:55–58
Dayton PK, Robilliard GA, Paine RT, Dayton LB (1974) Biological accommodation in the benthic community at McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Ecol Monogr 44:105–128
Hodson RE, Azam F, Carlucci AF, Fuhrman JA, Karl DM, Holm-Hansen O (1981) Microbial uptake of dissolved organic matter in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Mar Biol 61:89–94
Horner R, Schrader GC (1982) Relative contributions of ice algae, phytoplankton, and benthic microalgae to primary production in nearshore regions of the Beaufort Sea. Arctic 35:485–503
Lorenzen CJ (1967) Determination of chlorophyll and phaeopigments: spectrometric equations. Limnol Oceanogr 12:343–346
Matheke GEM, Horner R (1974) Primary productivity of the benthic microalgae in the Chukchi Sea near Barrow, Alaska. J Fish Res Board Can 31:1779–1786
Palmisano AC, Soohoo JB, Soohoo SL, Kottmeier ST, Craft LL, Sullivan CW (in press) Photoadaptation in Phaeocystis pouchetii advected beneath annual sea ice in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. J Plankt Res
Palmisano AC, Sullivan CW (1983) Sea ice microbial communities (SIMCO). 1. Distribution, abundance, and primary production on ice microalgae in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica in 1980. Polar Biol 2:171–177
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dayton, P.K., Watson, D., Palmisano, A. et al. Distribution patterns of benthic microalgal standing stock at McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Polar Biol 6, 207–213 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00443397
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00443397