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JPR Advance Access published online on February 28, 2006
Journal of Plankton Research, doi:10.1093/plankt/fbi146
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Received January 30, 2006
Accepted February 23, 2006

Article

Respiratory ETS activity of plankton in the northwestern Alboran Sea: seasonal variability and relationship with hydrological and biological features

Teodoro Ramírez 1 *, Esperanza Liger 2, Jesús M. Mercado 1, Dolores Cortés 1, Manuel Vargas-Yañez 1, Marta Sebastián 3, Andreas Reul 3, José Aguilera 3, and Begoña Bautista 3

1 Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga, Puerto Pesquero s/n, Apdo. 285, 29640 Fuengirola, Málaga, Spain
2 Departamento de Física Aplicada II, Universidad de Málaga, Campus Universitario de Teatinos, 29071 Málaga, Spain
3 Departamento de Ecología, Universidad de Málaga, Campus Universitario de Teatinos, 29071 Málaga, Spain

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Teodoro Ramírez, E-mail: teodoro.ramirez{at}ma.ieo.es


  Abstract

Respiratory electron transport system (ETS) activity were measured in plankton samples (<200 µm) collected in the NW Alboran Sea. Sampling was carried out during seasonal cruises (summer and autumn 2003 and winter and spring 2004) in 12 stations located in transects off the coast of Malaga (southern Spain). This work reports for the first time seasonal variations of the Arrhenius activation energy (Ea) as well as being the first study reporting CO2 fluxes in the NW Alboran Sea. These variations were related to changes in the phytoplankton community assemblage, which could ultimately be caused by the seasonal variability of hydrological conditions. ETS activity was significantly higher in summer, coinciding with a higher chlorophyll a concentration and relatively high levels of particulate organic matter. The ETS:Chlatotal ratios were low during the four seasons, suggesting a high contribution of autotrophic phytoplankton to the respiratory activity of planktonic community. Respiratory CO2 production (RCP) calculated from ETS activity ranged from 4.6 to 28.1 mg C m-3 d-1 during the four cruises. Chla-specific RCP was lower than the maximum photosynthetic rates reported in the literature for the studied area, suggesting that PP and respiration in the water column might be unbalanced.

Communicating Editor: KJ Flynn


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