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JPR Advance Access published online on May 2, 2007
Journal of Plankton Research, doi:10.1093/plankt/fbm040
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Phytoplankton size distribution and community structure: influence of nutrient input and sedimentary loss

Pannard Alexandrine1,{dagger}, Bormans Myriam1, Lefebvre Sebastien2, Claquin Pascal2 and Lagadeuc Yvan1,*

1 University of Rennes 1, UMR CNRS 6553 Ecobio, FR/IFR CAREN, Rennes, 35 042, France 2 University of Caen, UMR 100 IFREMER, Laboratoire de Biologie et Biotechnologies Marines, IBFA, Esplanade de la paix, 14032 Caen cedex, France

* Correspondence : Yvan Lagadeuc, UMR 6553 Ecobio, FR/IFR CAREN, University of Rennes, campus de Beaulieu, batiment 14b, Av. General Leclerc, Rennes, 35 042, France E-mail : yvan.lagadeuc{at}univ-rennes1.fr

Received on February 3, 2007; revised on March 30, 2007; accepted on April 24, 2007


  Abstract

This study examines the effects of nutrient availability and sedimentary loss on the dynamics of freshwater phytoplankton , from the physiological state at the cellular level to the competition issue at the community level. We studied the separated and combined responses to nutrient inputs and mixing, of a phytoplankton community, in terms of size fractionated photosynthetic activity and biomass, exported biomass and species composition. The community was composed of 2 dominant species, which differed in their sinking velocity. Experiments were conducted during 8 days in 12 water columns of 50 litres, in light and temperature controlled conditions. The nutrient input was found to be the predominant factor affecting sedimentary fluxes and community composition, but mixing had also a significant effect on the community structure and sedimentary fluxes when combined with nutrient inputs. In this latter case, the large sinking species, Tribonema sp. (Xanthophyceae), developed, due to both a decrease of sedimentary loss by upward advection and the enhanced growth from nutrient inputs, as indicated by the higher photosynthetic activity measured using chlorophyll a in vivo fluorescence. The combined effect of both factors reduced the difference between growth and loss rates and increased the viability of the sinking populations.

Key Words: sinking • species dynamics • nutrient • competition - fluorescence

{dagger} Present address : Département des sciences biologiques, University of Québec at Montréal (UQÀM), CP 8888, Succ. Centre Ville, Montréal, QC, Canada H3C 3P8

Communicating Editor: K. J. Flynn


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