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JPR Advance Access published online on February 25, 2005
Journal of Plankton Research, doi:10.1093/plankt/fbi011
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© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. for Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oupjournals.org
Received November 23, 2004
Accepted February 21, 2005

Horizons

Phytoplankton blooms: A "loophole" in microzooplankton grazing impact?

X. Irigoien 1*, K. J. Flynn 2, and R.P. Harris 3

1 AZTI, Herrera Kaia portualdea z/g, 20110 Pasaia, Guipúzcoa
2 Institute for Environmental Sustainability, University of Wales Swansea, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
3 Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, Plymouth PL1 3DH, UK

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
X. Irigoien, E-mail: xirigoien{at}pas.azti.es


  Abstract

Phytoplankton size and relations between phytoplankton and microzooplankton (ciliates and heterotrophic dinoflagellates) biomass are analysed in 12 globally distributed areas. In view of the results a hypothesis is posed where blooming species are those able to escape control by microzooplankton through a combination of predation avoidance mechanisms (e.g. larger size, colonies, spines, toxic compounds) at the beginning of the bloom. Factors that help to enhance subsequent bloom development include positive feedback from the poor nutritional status of the phototrophic prey which adversely affects predation, inter-microzooplankton grazing and top-down grazing by mesozooplankton on microzooplankton. Blooming conditions are interpreted as physical or chemical perturbations disrupting the predator-prey controls that normally operate at the level of the microbial loop, opening "loopholes" into which some phytoplankton species populations can explode.


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