The distribution of phytoplankton size and major influencing factors in the surface waters near the northern end of the Antarctic Peninsula
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Abstract: The waters near the Antarctic Peninsula have always been a study hot spot because of their variable and unique oceanographic conditions. To determine the distribution and possible influencing factors on phytoplankton size and abundance near the Antarctic Peninsula, a large-scale survey was conducted during the austral summer of 2018. Samples were collected in 27 stations located in the Drake Passage (DP), South Shetland Islands (SSI), and South Orkney Islands (SOI). Phytoplankton communities were described using chlorophyll a (Chl a), flow cytometry and light microscopy to cover a size range from pico- to microphytoplankton. Nanophytoplankton, especially small nanophytoplankton (2−6 μm) with abundance ranging from 0.66 ×103 cells/mL to 8.46 ×103 cells/mL, was predominant throughout the study area. Among different regions, there was an obvious size shift. The proportion of picophytoplankton near the Elephant Island (EI) and DP was higher than other regions, and larger cells were found mainly in east of SOI. The distribution of phytoplankton abundance detected by flow cytometry was not completely consistent with Chl a concentrations due to the contribution of larger cells to Chl a. Possible influencing factors on the phytoplankton size distribution were discussed. The properties of water masses such as temperature and salinity can influence the phytoplankton size distribution. Correlation analysis revealed that only picophytoplankton is significantly correlated with salinity. Light and Fe availability might affect phytoplankton abundance and size distribution especially near the waters of SSI and EI in this study. It was also speculated that the abundance of cryptophytes is possibly related to ice melting.
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Key words:
- Antarctic Peninsula /
- phytoplankton size /
- flow cytometry /
- Chl a /
- microscopy
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Figure 1. Study area and sampling stations in the Southern Ocean. The filled blue dots show the locations of the 27 stations. SOI, South Orkney Islands; EI, Elephant Island; DP, Drake Passage; SSI, South Shetland Islands. The solid yellow curve indicates the transect from SSI to SOI.
Figure 2. Flow cytometric plots of SSC vs. FL3 (a), and FL2 vs. FL3 (b). R1, 2 μm beads; R2, 6.19 μm beads; R3, picophytoplankton, <2 μm; R4, small nanophytoplankton, about 2−6 μm; R5, medium nanophytoplankton, >6 μm slightly; R6, cryptophytes.
Figure 3. Surface and transect (SSI-SOI) distribution of temperature and salinity. a. Surface temperature; b. surface salinity; c. transect temperature; d. transect salinity.
Figure 4. Distribution of Chl a concentration (μg/L) (a) and total abundance (cells/mL) (b) based on FCM.
Figure 5. Distribution of eukaryotic cell abundance in four groups. a. R3, picophytoplankton; b. R4, “small nano”; c. R5, “medium nano”; d. Cry, cryptophytes.
Figure 6. Size composition of phytoplankton communities based on FCM (a) and microscopy (b).
Figure 8. Sea ice concentration images of Antarctic (Fetterer et al., 2017).
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