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Species composition and spatial distribution of abundances and biomass of phytoplankton and ciliates during summer stratification in the Gulf of Hammamet (Tunisia)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2011

Imen Hannachi ,
Zaher Drira ,
Malika Bel Hassen ,
Asma Hamza ,
Habib Ayadi  and
Lotfi Aleya
Imen Hannachi
Affiliation:
Université de Sfax, Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Département des Sciences de la Vie, Unité de recherche 00/UR/0907 Ecobiologie, Planctonologie and Microbiologie des Ecosystèmes Marins, Route Soukra Km 3.5 BP 1171 CP 3000 Sfax, Tunisie
Zaher Drira
Affiliation:
Université de Sfax, Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Département des Sciences de la Vie, Unité de recherche 00/UR/0907 Ecobiologie, Planctonologie and Microbiologie des Ecosystèmes Marins, Route Soukra Km 3.5 BP 1171 CP 3000 Sfax, Tunisie
Malika Bel Hassen
Affiliation:
Institut National des Sciences et Technologie de la Mer, 2025 Salambô Tunis, Tunisie
Asma Hamza
Affiliation:
Institut National des Sciences et Technologie de la Mer, Centre de Sfax BP 1035 Sfax 3018, Tunisie
Habib Ayadi
Affiliation:
Université de Sfax, Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Département des Sciences de la Vie, Unité de recherche 00/UR/0907 Ecobiologie, Planctonologie and Microbiologie des Ecosystèmes Marins, Route Soukra Km 3.5 BP 1171 CP 3000 Sfax, Tunisie
Lotfi Aleya*
Affiliation:
Université de Franche-Comté, Chrono-Environnement, UMR CNRS 6249 1, Place Leclerc, F-25030 Besançon cedex, France
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: L. Aleya, Université de Franche-Comté, Laboratoire de Chrono-Environnement, UMR CNRS 6249 1, Place Leclerc, F-25030, Besançon cedex, France email: lotfi.aleya@univ-fcomte.fr
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Abstract

We studied the distribution of phytoplankton and ciliate communities in relation to environmental factors at 6 stations sampled between 28 and 31 July 2006 during the summer water stratification in the Gulf of Hammamet (Tunisia, eastern Mediterranean Sea). A strong thermocline was established at 30 m, and, on average, the N/P ratio was lower than the Redfield ratio (16), suggesting a potential N limitation. The inshore location was numerically dominated by dinoflagellates (55%) represented essentially by members of the genera Protoperidinium, Gymnodinium, and cryptic Scrippsiella trochoidea and on the offshore by diatoms (68%). The phytoplankton assemblage was largely dominated by the diatoms Thalassionema nitzshioides and Rhizosolenia styliformis, while the ciliate community was numerically dominated by small taxa such as Lohmanniella oviformis (6 × 102 cells l−1) and Uronema marinum (5.50 × 102 cells l−1). The total phytoplankton abundance increased from the coastal area (5.26 × 102 ± 4.48 × 102) to the open sea (10.33 ×102 ± 28.06 × 102) and decreased from the surface to the bottom, inversely to the ciliate abundance. Total phytoplankton and abundances showed similar patterns. Total ciliate biomass decreased from the inshore (0.25 ± 0.58) to the offshore (0.06 ± 0.10) areas but increased from the surface to the bottom. The diversity index of both phytoplankton and ciliate communities showed a decrease with a coastal–open sea gradient. The relationships between phytoplankton and ciliates suggest planktonic micro-heterotrophs were implicated in the channelling of matter and energy through the microbial loop in the Gulf of Hammamet.

Keywords

phytoplanktonciliatesenvironmental parametersthermoclinenutrientsGulf of Hammamet
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 91 , Issue 7 , November 2011 , pp. 1429 - 1442
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2011

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