Cryptophyte and Photosynthetic Picoeukaryote Abundances in the Bransfield Strait during Austral Summer
1
A. O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas, Russian Academy of Sciences, 299011 Sevastopol, Russia
2
Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia
3
Institute of Marine Environment and Ecology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 202-24, Taiwan
4
Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 202-24, Taiwan
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Michele Mistri, Maria Moustaka-Gouni and Jun Yang
Water 2022, 14(2), 185; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14020185
Received: 16 November 2021
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Revised: 24 December 2021
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Accepted: 29 December 2021
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Published: 10 January 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical and Biological Properties of Waters in the Region of the Antarctic Peninsula and Adjacent Basins of the South Atlantic)
A remarkable shift in the species composition and size distribution of the phytoplankton community have been observed in coastal waters along the Antarctic Peninsula over the last three decades. Smaller photoautotrophs such as cryptophytes are becoming more abundant and important for the regional ecosystems. In this study, flow cytometry was used to quantify the smallest phytoplankton in the central Bransfield Strait and explore their distribution across the strait in relation to physical and chemical properties of the two major water masses: the warmer and less saline Transitional Zonal Water with Bellingshausen Sea influence (TBW), and the cold and salty Transitional Zonal Water with Weddell Sea influence (TWW). Pico- and nano-phytoplankton clusters were distinguished and enumerated in the cytograms: photosynthetic picoeukaryotes, cryptophytes (about 9 µm in size), and smaller (3 µm) nanophytoplankton. It was shown that nanophytoplankton developed higher abundances and biomasses in the warmer and less saline TBW. This biotope was characterized by a more diverse community with a pronounced dominance of Cryptophyta in terms of biomass. The results support the hypothesis that increasing melt-water input can potentially support spatial and temporal extent of cryptophytes. The replacement of large diatoms with small cryptophytes leads to a significant shift in trophic processes in favor of the consumers such as salps, which able to graze on smaller prey.
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Keywords:
cryptophytes; nanophytoplankton; picophytoplankton; photosynthetic picoeukaryotes; phytoplankton bloom; Bransfield Strait; Antarctic Peninsula; flow cytometry
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MDPI and ACS Style
Mukhanov, V.; Sakhon, E.; Polukhin, A.; Artemiev, V.; Morozov, E.; Tsai, A.-Y. Cryptophyte and Photosynthetic Picoeukaryote Abundances in the Bransfield Strait during Austral Summer. Water 2022, 14, 185. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14020185
AMA Style
Mukhanov V, Sakhon E, Polukhin A, Artemiev V, Morozov E, Tsai A-Y. Cryptophyte and Photosynthetic Picoeukaryote Abundances in the Bransfield Strait during Austral Summer. Water. 2022; 14(2):185. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14020185
Chicago/Turabian StyleMukhanov, Vladimir, Evgeny Sakhon, Alexander Polukhin, Vladimir Artemiev, Eugene Morozov, and An-Yi Tsai. 2022. "Cryptophyte and Photosynthetic Picoeukaryote Abundances in the Bransfield Strait during Austral Summer" Water 14, no. 2: 185. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14020185
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