Summary
Two cruises of the ARA/Islas Orcadas (late winter/early spring 1978 and late summer/early fall 1979) provided data which show that temporal variability of phytoplankton biomass and productivity in the oceanic wates of the Southwest Atlantic and Scotia Sea is insignificant when compared to the influence of geographical variability. Two bloom stations sampled during the late winter/early spring cruise had chlorophyll a concentrations and productivity values an order of magnitude higher than waters sampled from the same locations the following late summer/early fall. However, a comparison of 10 paired stations from the two cruises indicated no seasonal trend, as measured values of chlorophyll a and productivity from the first cruise were randomly larger or smaller than values measured during the second cruise. Consideration of individual stations from both seasons suggests the need to re-examine widely held notions regarding the effect of the Polar Front Zone and the “island-mass effect” on phytoplankton abundance and productivity. Higher-than-expected standing stock and productivity values at some open-ocean stations and at some stations within the Polar Front Zone indicate that looking for specific factors which promote localized enhancement or impoverishment of phytoplankton would be more useful than continuing with attempts to generalize Antarctic productivity data into broad seasonal or geographical patterns.
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In memory of Mary Alice McWhinnie (1922–1980)
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El-Sayed, S.Z., Weber, L.H. Spatial and temporal variations in phytoplankton biomass and primary productivity in the Southwest Atlantic and the Scotia Sea. Polar Biol 1, 83–90 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00263804
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00263804