Skip Navigation


JPR Advance Access originally published online on November 25, 2008
Journal of Plankton Research 2009 31(2):193-207; doi:10.1093/plankt/fbn107
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
31/2/193    most recent
fbn107v3
fbn107v2
fbn107v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Zarauz, L.
Right arrow Articles by Fernandes, J. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Zarauz, L.
Right arrow Articles by Fernandes, J. A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Changes in plankton size structure and composition, during the generation of a phytoplankton bloom, in the central Cantabrian sea

Lucia Zarauz*, Xabier Irigoien and Jose A. Fernandes

Marine Research Division, AZTI Tecnalia FoundationTxatxarramendi Ugartea z/g, Sukarrieta Bizkaia 48395, Spain

* CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: lzarauz{at}suk.azti.es

Received on November 21, 2007; accepted on October 24, 2008


  Abstract

Six stations situated on a transect perpendicular to the coast were sampled eight consecutive times in the central Cantabrian Sea, during February–March of 2005. A contrast was observed in the timing, magnitude and size structure of a phytoplankton bloom between coastal and oceanic stations, probably due to differences in the depth and mixing of the water column. The increase of biomass during the bloom occurred through the addition of "new" size classes of larger cells. An increase of small particle biomass was also observed at oceanic stations. In view of the results, it is proposed that at coastal stations, improved environmental conditions (nutrients and light) enhanced productivity and increased the number of both small and large cells. Because predation susceptibility is related to size, only large diatoms were able to escape from the predatory pressure exerted by microzooplankton. The results obtained indicate that imaging technology, combined with automatic recognition techniques, constitutes a powerful approach to describe plankton distributions at a fine temporal scale.

Corresponding editor: Roger Harris


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.