Abstract
In the summer of 2007, the Arctic Ocean experienced the largest loss of ice cover yet observed. We examined the phytoplankton community composition at several stations in the NE Arctic Sector during the ATOS-Arctic cruise in July 2007, specifically in the Fram Strait and along the permanent ice edge up to 81°N. The prymnesiophyte Phaeocystis pouchetti, present exclusively in its colonial form, dominated the whole phytoplankton community, representing 82.1 ± 3.1% (mean ± SE) of the phytoplankton biovolume in the region. Diatoms, small flagellates and dinoflagellates, expected to dominate the ice-melt waters in this sector of the Arctic Ocean, were practically insignificant, representing 7.3 ± 2.4%, 6.8 ± 1.4% and 4.4 ± 1.2% of phytoplankton biovolume, respectively. The fraction of the phytoplankton biomass that comprised diatoms increased with increasing water temperature and salinity, and was, therefore, negatively associated with the increased load of ice-melt waters. In contrast, the fraction of the biomass that comprised P. pouchetii was not as clearly related to temperature and had a weak tendency to decrease with increasing temperature. This pattern was likely the result of different populations stress, as the percentage of living cells of P. pouchetii increased with increasing salinity and temperature. The exceptional dominance of the colonial form of P. pouchetii during the massive ice losses of summer 2007 provides indication of major changes in phytoplankton community structure and carbon flow with climate change in the Arctic Ocean.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
ACIA (2004) Impacts of a warming arctic: arctic climate impact assessment. Cambridge University Press, New York
Agustí S, Sánchez MC (2002) Cell viability in natural phytoplankton communities quantified by a membrane permeability probe. Limnol Oceanogr 47:818–828
Alcaraz M, Almeda R, Calbet A, Saiz E, Duarte CM, Lasternas S, Agustí S, Santiago R, Movilla J, Alonso A (2010) The role of Arctic zooplankton in biogeochemical cycles: respiration and excretion of ammonia and phosphate during summer. Polar Biology (in press)
Alonso-Laita P, Agustí S (2006) Contrasting patterns of phytoplankton viability in the subtropical NE Atlantic Ocean. Aquat Microb Ecol 43:67–78
Arrigo KR, Robinson DH, Worthen DL, Dunbar RB, DiTullio GR, VanWoert M, Lizotte MP (1999) Phytoplankton community structure and the drawdown of nutrients and CO2 in the Southern Ocean. Science 283(5400):365–367
Arrigo KR, van Dijken G, Pabi S (2008) Impact of a shrinking Arctic ice cover on marine primary production. Geophys Res Lett 35:L19603
Comiso JC, Parkinson CL, Gersten R, Stock L (2008) Accelerated decline in the Arctic sea ice cover. Geophys Res Lett 35:L01703
Degerlund M, Eilertsen H (2009) Main species characteristics of phytoplankton spring blooms in NE Atlantic and Arctic Waters (68–80°N). Estuaries Coasts. doi:10.1007/s12237-009-9167-7
Duarte CM, Lasternas S, Agustí S, Regaudie-de-Gioux A, Echeveste P, Tovar-Sánchez A, Arrieta JM, Álvarez M, Dachs J, Lacorte S, Tauler R, Galbán C, Berrojariz N (2010) Ice melting suppresses primary production in the arctic ocean (in revision)
Edvardsen B, Imai I (2006) The ecology of harmful flagellates within Prymnesiophyceae and Raphidophyceae. In: Granéli E, Turner JT (eds) Ecology of harmful algae, ecological studies, vol 189. Springer, Berlin, pp 67–79
Eilertsen HC, Schei B, Taasen JP (1981) Investigations on the plankton community of Balsfjorden, northern Norway. The phytoplankton 1976–1978. Abundance, species composition, and succession. Sarsia 66:129–141
Falk-Petersen S, Sargent JR, Henderson J, Hegseth EN, Hop H, Okolodkov YB (1998) Lipids and fatty acids in ice algae and phytoplankton from the Marginal Ice Zone in the Barents Sea. Polar Biol 20:41–47
Hansen B, Verity P, Falkenhaug T, Tande K, Norrbin F (1994) On the trophic fate of Phaeocystis pouchetti (Harriot). V. Trophic relationships between Phaeocystis and zooplankton: an assessment of methods and size dependence. J Plankton Res 16:487–511
Hodal H, Kristiansen S (2008) The importance of small-celled phytoplankton in spring blooms at the marginal ice zone in the northern Barents Sea. Deep Sea Res 55:2176–2185
Huang CJ, Dong QX, Zheng L (1999) Taxonomic and ecological studies on a large scale Phaeocystis pouchetii bloom in the southeast coast of China during late 1997. Oceanol Limnol Sin 30:581–592
Kaplan JO, New M (2006) Arctic climate change with a 2°C global warming: Timing, climate patterns and vegetation change. Clim Change 79:213–241
Kashkin NI (1963) Materials on the ecology of Phaeocystis pouchetii (Hariot) Lagerheim 1893 (Chrysophyceae) I. Habitat and specification of biogeographical characteristics. Okeanologia 3:697–705
Lancelot C, Mathot S (1985) Biochemical fractionation of primary production by phytoplankton in Belgian coastal waters during short-and long-term incubations with 14C-bicarbonate. II. Phaeocystis pouchetii colonial population. Mar Biol 86:227–232
Lancelot C, Billen G, Sournia A, Weisse T, Colijn F, Veldhuis MJW, Davies A, Wassmann P (1987) Phaeocystis blooms and nutrient enrichment in the coastal zones of the North Sea. Ambio 16:38–46
Lasternas S, Agustí S, Duarte CM (2010) Phyto- and Bacterioplankton abundance and viability and their relationship with phosphorus across the Mediterranean Sea. Aquat Microb Ecol 60:175–191
Lindsay RW, Zhang J, Schweiger A, Steele M, Stern H (2009) Arctic Sea ice retreat in 2007 follows thinning trend. J Clim 22:165–176
Llabrés M, Agustí S (2008) Extending the cell digestion assay to quantify dead phytoplankton cells in cold and polar waters. Limnol Oceanogr Meth 6:659–666
Lutter S, Taasen JP, Hopkins CCE, Smetacek V (1989) Phytoplankton dynamics and sedimentation processes during spring and summer in Balsfjord, Northern Norway. Polar Biol 10:113–124
Morán XAG, Estrada M (2002) Phytoplanktonic DOC and POC production in the Bransfield and Gerlache Straits as derived from kinetic experiments of 14C incorporation. Deep Sea Res 49:769–786
Nghiem SV, Rigor IG, Perovich DK, Clemente-Colón P, Weatherly JW, Neumann G (2007) Rapid reduction of Arctic perennial sea ice. Geophys Res Lett 34:L19504
Parsons TR, Maita Y, Lalli CM (1984) A manual of chemical and biological methods for seawater analysis. Pergamon Press, Oxford
Passow U, Alldredge AL, Logan BE (1994) The role of particulate carbohydrate exudates in the flocculation of diatom blooms. Deep-Sea Res 41:335–357
Rat’kova TN, Wassmann P (2002) Seasonal variation and spatial distribution of phyto- and protozooplankton in the central Barents Sea. J Mar Syst 38:47–75
Regaudie-de-Gioux A, Duarte CM (2010) Plankton metabolism in the Atlantic Sector of the Arctic Ocean during the summer of 2007. Polar Biol (in press)
Reigstad M, Wassmann P (2007) Does Phaeocystis spp. contribute significantly to vertical export of organic carbon. Biogeochemistry 83:217–234
Richardson K, Markager S, Buch E, Lassen MF, Kristensen AS (2005) Seasonal distribution of primary production, phytoplankton biomass and size distribution in the Greenland Sea. Deep Sea Res 52:979–999
Schoemann V, Becquevort S, Stefels J, Rousseau V, Lancelot C (2005) Phaeocystis blooms in the global ocean and their controlling mechanisms: a review. J Sea Res 53:43–66
Serreze MC, Holland MM, Stroeve J (2007) Perspectives on the Arctic’s shrinking sea-ice cover. Sciences 315:1533–1536
Siegel S, Castellan NJ (1988) Non-parametric statistics for the behavioural sciences. McGraw Hill Company, New York
Smith WO, Dennett MR, Mathot S, Caron DA (2003) The temporal dynamics of the flagellated and colonial stages of Phaeocystis antarctica in the Ross Sea. Deep Sea Res 50:605–617
Steemann-Nielsen EJ (1952) The use of radioactive carbon (l4C) for measuring organic production in the sea. Cons Perm Int Explor Mer 18:117–140
Sun J, Liu D (2003) Geometric models for calculating cell biovolume and surface area for phytoplankton. J Plankton Res 25:1331–1346
Throndsen J (1978) Preservation and storage. In: Sournia A (ed) Phytoplankton manual. Unesco, Paris, pp 69–74
Utermöhl H (1958) Zur Vervollkommung der quantitativen Phytoplankton-Methodik. Mitt Int Ver Theor Angew Limnol 9:1–38
Veldhuis W, Wassmann MJP (2005) Bloom dynamics and biological control of a high biomass HAB species in European coastal waters: a Phaeocystis case study. Harmful Algae 4:805–809
Verity PG, Smayda TJ (1989) Nutritional value of Phaeocystis pouchetii (Prymnesiophyceae) and other phytoplankton for Acartia spp. (Copepoda): ingestion, egg production, and growth of nauplii. Mar Bio 100:161–171
Verity PG, Smetacek V (1996) Organism life cycles, predation, and the structure of marine pelagic ecosystems. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 130:277–293
Verity P, Brussaard C, Nejstgaard J, van Leeuwe M, Lancelot C, Medlin L (2007) Current understanding of Phaeocystis ecology and biogeochemistry, and perspectives for future research. Biogeochemistry 83:311–330
Vernet M, Matrai PA, Andreassen I (1998) Synthesis of particulate and extracellular carbon by phytoplankton at the marginal ice zone in the Barents Sea. J Geo Res 103:1023–1038
Wassmann P, Rat’kova TN, Reigstad M (2005) The contribution of single and colonial cells of Phaeocystis pouchetii to spring and summer blooms in the north-eastern North Atlantic. Harmful Algae 4:823–840
Whipple SJ, Patten BC, Verity PG, Nejstgaard JC, Long JD, Anderson JT, Jacobsen A, Larsen A, Martinez-Martinez J, Borrett SR (2007) Gaining integrated understanding of Phaeocystis spp. (Prymnesiophyceae) through model-driven laboratory and mesocosm studies. Biogeochemistry 83:293–309
Zhang J, Lindsay R, Steele M, Schweiger A (2008) What drove the dramatic retreat of arctic sea ice during summer 2007? Geophys Res Lett 35(11):L11505
Acknowledgments
This research is a contribution to the ATOS project, a Spanish contribution to the International Polar Year, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (ref. POL2006-00550/CTM). We thank the crew of R/V Hespérides for support. We are also grateful to Johnna Holding for her kind re-lecture. S. L. was supported by a EUR-OCEANS fellowship.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lasternas, S., Agustí, S. Phytoplankton community structure during the record Arctic ice-melting of summer 2007. Polar Biol 33, 1709–1717 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0877-x
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0877-x