Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Role of herbivory in controlling phytoplankton abundance: annual pigment budget for a temperate marine fjord

  • Published:
Marine Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

An annual pigment budget was constructed for Dabob Bay, Washington (USA) by comparing the downward vertical loss of phytoplankton pigments (chlorophyll and pheopigments) to the production of chlorophyll within the euphotic zone. The vertical flux of pigments was measured with sediment traps deployed at intervals of 1 to 6 wk over a 2.5 yr period yielding 763 d of trap exposure (28 November 1978–16 June 1981). The production rate of chlorophyll was calculated from measurements of algal specific growth rates, chlorophyll (chl) crops, primary production (as carbon) and appropriate C: chl ratios. Sixty one to 77% of the annual chlorophyll production was accounted for by the vertical flux of pheopigments resulting from herbivorous zooplankton grazing (macrozooplankton). Algal sinking, represented by downward chlorophyll flux, accounted for only 5 to 6% of the annual chlorophyll production. The remaining fraction of chlorophyll production was estimated to be consumed by small herbivores (microzooplankton), whose fecal material contributes to the suspended pool of pheopigments found in the euphotic zone. The suspended pheopigments are continuously removed by photodegradation. In Dabob Bay, the major process controlling phytoplankton abundance is zooplankton grazing and it appears that the ultimate fate of most phytoplankton is to be consumed by herbivores.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Literature cited

  • Banse, K.: Determining the carbon-to-chlorophyll ratio of natural phytoplankton. Mar. Biol. 41, 199–212 (1977)

    Google Scholar 

  • Beers, J. R. and G. L. Stewart: Micro-zooplankton in the euphotic zone at five locations across the California current. J. Fish. Res. Bd Can. 24, 2053–2067 (1967)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bienfang, P. K.: Sinking rates of heterogenous, temperate phytoplankton populations. J. Plankton Res. 3, 235–253 (1981)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bienfang, P. K.: Size structure and sedimentation of biogenic microparticulates in a subarctic ecosystem. J. Plankton Res. 6, 985–996 (1984)

    Google Scholar 

  • Burns, N. M. and F. Rosa: In situ measurement of settling velocity of organic carbon particles and 10 species of phytoplankton. Limnol. Oceanogr. 25, 855–864 (1980)

    Google Scholar 

  • Copping, A. E.: The distribution and passage of organic matter in the marine food web, using nitrogen as a tracer, 155 pp. Ph.D. thesis, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 1982

    Google Scholar 

  • Crisp, D. J.: Grazing in terrestrial and marine environments, 321 pp. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific 1964

    Google Scholar 

  • Cushing, D. H.: Grazing in Lake Erken. Limnol. Oceanogr. 21, 349–356 (1976)

    Google Scholar 

  • Daley, R. J.: Experimental characterization of lacustrine chlorophyll diagensis. 11. Bacterial, viral, and herbivore grazing effects. Arch. Hydrobiol. 72, 409–439 (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, C. O., J. T. Hollibaugh, D. L. R. Siebert, W. H. Thomas and P. J. Harrison: Formation of resting spores by Leptocylindrus danicus (Bacillariophyceae) in a controlled experimental ecosystem. J. Phycol. 16, 296–302 (1980)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ebbesmeyer, C. C., C. A. Barnes and C. W. Langley: Application of an advective-diffuse equation to a water parcel observed in a fjord. Estuar. cstl mar. Sci. 3, 249–268 (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  • Eppley, R. W.: Estimating phytoplankton growth rates in the central oligotrophic oceans. Brookhaven Symp. Biol. 31, 231–242 (1980)

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleming, R. H.: The control of diatom populations by grazing. J. Cons. perm. int. Explor. Mer. 14, 210–227 (1939)

    Google Scholar 

  • Frost, B. W.: Grazing In: The physiological ecology of phytoplankton, 625 pp. Ed. by J. Morris, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press 1980

    Google Scholar 

  • Garrison, D. L.: Monterey Bay phytoplankton. II. Resting spore cycles in coastal diatom populations. J. Plankton Res. 3, 137–156 (1981)

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibbs, C. F.: Chlorophyll b interference in the fluorometric determination of chlorophyll a and ‘phaeopigments’. Aust. J. mar. Freshwat. Res. 30, 597–606 (1979)

    Google Scholar 

  • Gieskes, W. W. C., G. W. Kraay and M. A. Baars: Current 14C methods for measuring primary production: gross underestimates in oceanic waters. Neth. J. Sea Res. 13, 58–78 (1979)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hairston, N. G., F. E. Smith, and L. B. Slobodkin: Community structure, population control and competition. Am. Nat. 94, 421–425 (1960)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hallegraeff, G. M.: Seasonal study of phytoplankton pigments and species at a coastal station off Sydney: importance of diatoms and the nanoplankton. Mar. Biol. 61, 107–118 (1981)

    Google Scholar 

  • Haney, J. F.: An in situ examination of the grazing activities of natural zooplankton communities. Arch. Hydrobiol. 72, 87–132 (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hargrave, B. T.: Factors affecting the flux of organic matter to sediments in a marine bay. In: Marine benthic dynamics, pp 243–263. Ed. by K. R. Tenore and B. C. Coull. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press 1980

    Google Scholar 

  • Hargrave, B. T. and N. M. Burns: Assessment of sediment trap collection efficiency. Limnol. Oceanogr. 24, 1124–1135 (1979)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hargrave, B. T. and S. Taguchi: Origin of deposited material sedimented in a marine bay. J. Fish. Res. Bd Can. 35, 1604–1613 (1978)

    Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, H. W.: The chemistry and fertility of sea waters, 224 pp. Cambridge: University Press 1955

    Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, H. W., L. H. N. Cooper, M. V. LeBour and F. S. Russell: Plankton production and its control. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 20, 407–441 (1935)

    Google Scholar 

  • Holm-Hansen, O., C. J. Lorenzen, R. W. Holmes and J. D. H. Strickland: Fluorometric determination of chlorophyll. J. Cons. perm. int. Explor. Mer. 30, 3–15 (1965)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hutchinson, G. E.: A treatise on limnology. Vol. 2. Introduction to lake biology and the limnoplankton, 115 pp. New York: Wiley 1967

    Google Scholar 

  • Iseki, K., F. Whitney and C. S. Wong: Biochemical changes of sedimented matter in sediment trap in shallow coastal waters. Bull. Plankton Soc. Japan 27, 27–36 (1980)

    Google Scholar 

  • Jeffrey, S. W.: Profiles of photosynthetic pigmentation in the ocean using thin-layer chromatography. Mar. Biol. 26, 101–110 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalff, J. and R. Knoechel: Phytoplankton and their dynamics in oligotrophic and eutrophic lakes. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 9, 475–495 (1978)

    Google Scholar 

  • Knoechel, R.: Analyzing the significance of grazing in Lake Erken. Limnol. Oceangr. 22, 967–969 (1977)

    Google Scholar 

  • Knoechel, R. and J. Kalff: Algal sedimentation: the cause of diatom blue-green succession. Verh. int. Verein. theor. angew. Limnol. 19, 745–754 (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kollmeyer, R.C.: Water properties and circulation in Dabob Bay autumn 1962, 111 pp. M. S. thesis, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 1965

    Google Scholar 

  • Landry, M. R., R. P. Hassett, V. Fagerness, J. Downs and C. J. Lorenzen: Effect of food acclimation on assimilation efficiency of Calanus pacificus. Limnol. Oceanogr. 29, 361–364 (1984)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, W. M., Jr.: Comments on the analysis of grazing in Lake Erken. Limnol. Oceanogr. 22, 966–967 (1977)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lorenzen, C. J.: Determination of chlorophyll and phaeo-pigments: spectrophotometric equations. Limnol. Oceanogr. 12, 343–346 (1967a)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lorenzen, C. J.: Vertical distribution of chlorophyll and phaeopigments: Baja, California. Deep-Sea Res. 14, 735–745 (1967b)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lorenzen, C. J.: Carbon/chlorophyll relationships in an upwelling area. Limnol. Oceanogr. 13, 202–204 (1968)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lorenzen, C. J.: Chlorophyll b in the eastern North Pacific Ocean. Deep-Sea Res. 28, 1049–1056 (1981)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lorenzen, C. J. and S. W. Jeffrey: Determination of chlorophyll in seawater. Tech. Pap. mar. Sci. (U.N.E.S.C.O.) 35 (1980)

  • Lorenzen, C. J., F. R. Shuman and J. T. Bennett: In situ calibration of a sediment trap. Limnol. Oceanogr. 26, 580–584 (1981)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lorenzen, C. J. and N. A. Welschmeyer: The in situ sinking rates of herbivore fecal pellets. J. Plankton Res. 5, 929–933 (1983)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lorenzen, C. J., N. A. Welschmeyer and A. E. Copping: Particulate organic carbon flux in the subarctic Pacific. Deep-Sea Res. 30, 639–643 (1983)

    Google Scholar 

  • Madin, L. P. and C. M. Cetta: The use of gut fluorescence to estimate grazing by oceanic salps. J. Plankton Res. 6, 475–492 (1984)

    Google Scholar 

  • Malone, T. C. and M. B. Chervin: The production and fate of phytoplankton size fractions in the plume of the Hudson River, New York Bight. Limnol. Oceanogr. 24, 683–696 (1979)

    Google Scholar 

  • Malone, T. C., P. G. Falkowski, T. S. Hopkins, G. T. Rowe and T. E. Whitledge: Mesoscale response of diatom populations to a wind event in the plume of the Hudson River. Deep-Sea Res. 30, 147–170 (1983)

    Google Scholar 

  • Margalef, R.: Life-forms of phytoplankton as survival alternatives in an unstable environment. Oceanol. Acta 1, 493–509 (1978)

    Google Scholar 

  • Odum, E. P.: Fundamentals of ecology, 3rd ed. 574 pp. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders 1971

    Google Scholar 

  • Paloheimo, J. E. and L. M. Dickie: Production and food supply. In: Marine food chains, pp 499–527. Ed. by J. H. Steele. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd 1970

    Google Scholar 

  • Parsons, T. R.: The structure of life in the sea. In: The ecology of the seas, pp 81–97. Ed. by D. H. Cushing and J. J. Walsh. Philadelphia: Saunders 1976

    Google Scholar 

  • Patterson, J. and T. R. Parsons: Distribution of chlorophyll a and degradation products in various marine materials. Limnol. Oceanogr. 8, 355–356 (1963)

    Google Scholar 

  • Redalje, D. G. and E. A. Laws: A new method for estimating phytoplankton growth rates and carbon biomass. Mar. Biol. 62, 73–79 (1981)

    Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, C. S., J. M. Thompson, A. J. D. Ferguson and S. W. Wiseman: Loss processes in the population dynamics of phytoplankton maintained in closed system. J. Plankton Res. 4, 561–600 (1982)

    Google Scholar 

  • Riley, G. A.: Factors controlling phytoplankton populations on Georges Bank. J. mar. Res. 6, 54–73 (1946)

    Google Scholar 

  • Runge, J. A.: Relationship of egg production of Calanus pacificus to seasonal changes in phytoplankton availability in Puget Sound, Washington. Limnol. Oceanogr. 30, 382–396 (1985)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryther, J. H.: Photosynthesis and fish production in the sea. Science N.Y. 116, 72–76 (1967)

    Google Scholar 

  • Shuman, F. R.: The fate of phytoplankton chlorophyll in the euphotic zone: Washington coastal waters, 250 pp. Ph.D. thesis, University of Washington 1978

  • Shuman, F. R. and C. J. Lorenzen: Quantitative degradation of chlorophyll by a marine herbivore. Limnol. Oceanogr. 20, 580–586 (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  • Smayda, T. J.: The suspension and sinking of phytoplankton in the sea. Oceanogr. mar. Biol. A. Rev. 8, 251–306 (1970)

    Google Scholar 

  • Smetacek, V.: Annual cycle of sedimentation in relation to plankton ecology in western Kiel Bight. Ophelia 1 (Suppl.), 65–86 (1980)

    Google Scholar 

  • Smetacek, V.: Supply of food to the benthos. In: Flows of energy and materials in marine ecosystems, pp 517–547. Ed. by M. J. R. Fasham, New York: Plenum Press 1984

    Google Scholar 

  • Smetacek, V., K. von Bröckel, B. Zeitschel and W. Zenk: Sedimentation of particulate matter during a phytoplankton spring bloom in relation to the hydrographical regime. Mar. Biol. 47, 211–226 (1978)

    Google Scholar 

  • Sommer, U.: Sedimentation of principal phytoplankton species in Lake Constance. J. Plankton Res. 6, 1–14 (1984)

    Google Scholar 

  • SooHoo, J. B. and D. A. Kiefer: Vertical distribution of phaeopigments. I. A. simple grazing and photooxidative scheme for small particles. Deep-Sea Res. 29, 1539–1551 (1982a)

    Google Scholar 

  • SooHoo, J. B. and D. A. Kiefer: Vertical distribution of phaeopigments. II. Rates of production and kinetics of photooxidation. Deep-Sea Res. 29, 1553–1563 (1982b)

    Google Scholar 

  • Steele, J. H.: The structure of marine ecosystems, 122 pp. Cambridge: Harvard University Press 1974

    Google Scholar 

  • Steele, J. H. and I. E. Baird: Sedimentation of organic matter in a Scottish sea loch. Memorie Ist. ital. Idrobiol. 29 (Suppl.), 73–88 (1972)

    Google Scholar 

  • Tett, P., J. C. Cottrell, D. O. Trew and B. J. B. Wood: Phosphorus quota and the chlorophyll: carbon ratio in marine phytoplankton. Limnol. Oceanogr. 20, 587–603 (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  • Vernet, M.: Marine phytoplankton pigments: methods and ecology, 159 pp. Ph.D. thesis, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 1983

    Google Scholar 

  • Walsby, A. E. and C. S. Reynolds: Sinking and floating. In: The physiological ecology of phytoplankton, 625 pp. Ed. by J. Norris, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press 1980

    Google Scholar 

  • Welschmeyer, N. A.: The dynamics of phytoplankton pigments: implications for zooplankton grazing and phytoplankton growth, 176 pp. Ph.D. thesis, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 1982

    Google Scholar 

  • Welschmeyer, N. A., A. E. Copping, M. Vernet and C. J. Lorenzen: Diel fluctuation in zooplankton grazing rate as determined from the downward vertical flux of pheopigments. Mar. Biol. 83, 263–270 (1984)

    Google Scholar 

  • Welschmeyer, N. A. and C. J. Lorenzen: Carbon-14 labeling of phytoplankton carbon and chlorophyll a carbon: determination of specific growth rates. Limnol. Oceanogr. 29, 135–145 (1984)

    Google Scholar 

  • Welschmeyer, N. A. and C. J. Lorenzen: Chlorophyll budgets: phytoplankton growth and zooplankton grazing in a temperate fjord and the central Pacific gyres. Limnol. Oceanogr. 30, 263–270 (1985)

    Google Scholar 

  • Yentsch, C. S.: The measurement of chloroplastic pigments: thirty years of progress? In: Chemical environment in the aquatic habitat, pp 225–270. Ed. by H. C. Golterman and R. S. Clymo. Amsterdam: North Holland 1967

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biological Laboratories, Harvard University, 02138, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

    N. A. Welschmeyer

  2. School of Oceanography, University of Washington, 98195, Seattle, Washington, USA

    C. J. Lorenzen

Authors
  1. N. A. Welschmeyer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. C. J. Lorenzen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

Communicated by J. M. Shick, Orono

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Welschmeyer, N.A., Lorenzen, C.J. Role of herbivory in controlling phytoplankton abundance: annual pigment budget for a temperate marine fjord. Marine Biology 90, 75–86 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00428217

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00428217

Keywords

Search

Navigation