Abstract
Siliceous nanoplankton in the size range 2.5 to 5.5 μm and of a type hitherto undescribed are reported from Eastern Subarctic water samples. Nine distinct cell types were recognizable, each possessing an unusual tetrahedral symmetry, resulting from the arrangement of 8 siliceous plates. Since the cells were abundant (maximum concentration of about 7×105 cells 1-1) and were distributed over a wide oceanic area (136° to 149°W), they could well play an important role in the food web in Subarctic seas. Similar cells were found simultaneously in Antarctic waters (see following paper: Silver et al., 1980), where they were as abundant and widespread as in the Subarctic. Evidence that the siliceous forms are likely a cyst stage and that they may be part of the life cycle of species of siliceous oceanic choanoflagellates is presented.
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Communicated by N. D. Holland, La Jolla
Contribution No. 1149 from the Department of Oceanography, University of Washington
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Booth, B.C., Lewin, J. & Norris, R.E. Siliceous nanoplankton I. Newly discovered cysts from the Gulf of Alaska. Marine Biology 58, 205–209 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00391877
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00391877