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Phytoplankton community during a coccolithophorid bloom in the Patagonian Shelf: microscopic and high-performance liquid chromatography pigment analyses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 May 2011

Márcio Silva de Souza ,
Carlos Rafael Borges Mendes ,
Virgínia Maria Tavano Garcia ,
Ricardo Pollery  and
Vanda Brotas
Márcio Silva de Souza*
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Fitoplâncton e Microorganismos Marinhos, Instituto de Oceanografia (FURG), PO Box 474, Campus Carreiros, 96201-900, Rio Grande, Brazil
Carlos Rafael Borges Mendes
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Fitoplâncton e Microorganismos Marinhos, Instituto de Oceanografia (FURG), PO Box 474, Campus Carreiros, 96201-900, Rio Grande, Brazil Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, Centro de Oceanografia, Campo Grande, 1749-016, Lisbon, Portugal
Virgínia Maria Tavano Garcia
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Fitoplâncton e Microorganismos Marinhos, Instituto de Oceanografia (FURG), PO Box 474, Campus Carreiros, 96201-900, Rio Grande, Brazil
Ricardo Pollery
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Biogeoquímica, Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biologia (UFRJ), Cidade Universitária, 21941-590, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Vanda Brotas
Affiliation:
Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, Centro de Oceanografia, Campo Grande, 1749-016, Lisbon, Portugal
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: M.S. de Souza, Laboratório de Fitoplâncton e Microorganismos Marinhos, Instituto de Oceanografia (FURG), PO Box 474, Campus Carreiros, 96201-900, Rio Grande, Brazil email: souza_msilva@yahoo.com.br
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Abstract

We describe the phytoplankton community and biomass during a summer coccolithophorid bloom sampled over the Patagonian shelf (48.5°S–50.5°S). Those phytoplankton species can contribute to the flux of calcium carbonate out of surface waters. Results from both microscope and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis are shown to complement information on the phytoplankton community. From CHEMTAX analysis of HPLC data, the most important organisms and groups identified were the coccolithophorid Emiliania huxleyi, the haptophyte Phaeocystis antarctica, dinoflagellates, diatoms, cryptophytes, prasinophytes and cyanobacteria. Phytoplankton microscope counts were converted into phytoplankton group-specific biovolume estimates. Although some microscope-identified taxa could not be determined by CHEMTAX, e.g. the autotrophic ciliate Myrionecta rubra, cluster analyses from both techniques showed similar results for the main groups. Both Emiliania huxleyi cell concentration and biomass, and the pigment 19′-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin were the most important biological features during the sampling period. At surface, nitrate was moderately high (0.2–4.2 µM) in coccolithophorid-dominated samples, whereas phosphate (<0.33 µM) and silicate (<1.35 µM) concentrations were low. Among the environmental factors low Si:N ratios were mainly associated with the dominance of E. huxleyi. Competition and probably differential grazing could also promote a coccolithophorid outgrowth over other photoautotrophs during the summer season in the Patagonian shelf.

Keywords

coccolithophoridsPatagonian shelfphytoplankton communityCHEMTAXpigmentstaxonomy
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 92 , Issue 1 , February 2012 , pp. 13 - 27
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2011

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