• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.213-226
• /
• 2003

Kongsfjorden near Korean Arctic Station, Dasan, is a glacial fjord in the Svalbard archipelago, Arctic that is influenced by both Atlantic and Arctic water masses. During the Arctic field season August 2002, surface temperature, salinity, density, and phytoplankton biomass (chi a) was measured in Kongsfjorden. A total of 15 surface samples were collected for the phytoplankton related measurements. Chl a values ranged from 0.08 to 1.4mg chi a $m^{-3}$ (mean of 0.53mg chl a $m^{-3}$) in the overall surface stations. The highest values of the chi a concentrations (> 1.0mg chi a $m^{-3}$) were found near glacier in the northeastern part of Kongsfjorden. Nanoplanktonic (< $20{\mu}m$) phytoflagellates were important contributors for the increase of the chi a. The nano-sized phytoflagellates accounted for more than 90% of the total chi a biomass in the study area. Surface temperatures and salinities ranged from 2.5 to $7.18^{\circ}C$ (mean of $4.65^{\circ}C$) and from 22.55 to 32.97 psu (mean of 30.16 psu), respectively. The physical factors were not highly correlated with phytoplankton distribution. The character of surface water due to down-fjord wind was highly similar to phytoplankton distribution. Drifting ice, freshwater, and semdiment inputs from large tidal glaciers located in the inner part of Konsfjorden create steep physico- and biogeochemical environmental gradients along the length of this ford. The glacial inputs cause reduced biodiversity biomass and productivity in the pelagic community in the inner fjord. Primary production of benthic and pelagic microalgae is reduced due to the limited light levels in the turbid and mixed inner waters. The magnitude of glacial effects diminishes towards the outer fjord. Kongsfjorden is an important feeding ground fer marine mammals and seabirds. Especially, seabirds play the largest energy intake and also export nutrients for primary production of the marine microalgae. Kongsfjorden has received a lot of research attention as a site for exploring the impacts of climate changes. Dasan Station in Kongsfjorden will be an important Arctic site for monitoring and detecting future environmental changes.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.231-235
• /
• 2005

The European Iron Fertilization Experiment EIFEX studied the growth and decline of a phytoplankton bloom stimulated by fertilising $10km^2$ in the core of a mesoscale $(80{\times}120km)$ cyclonic eddy south of the Antarctic Polar Front with about 2 times 7 tonnes of iron sulphate. The phytoplankton accumulation induced by iron fertilization did not exceed $3{\mu}g\;chl\;a\;l^{-1}$ despite a draw down of $5{\mu}M$ of nitrate that should have resulted in at least double to triple the amount of phytoplankton biomass assuming regular Redfield-ratios for draw down after phytoplankton growth in the Southern Ocean. During EIFEX the fertilized core of the mesoscale eddy evolved to a hotspot for a variety of small and medium sized mesozooplankton copepods. In contrast to copepods, the biomass of salps (Salpa thompson)) that dominated zooplankton biomass before the onset of our experiment decreased to nearly extinction. Most of the species of the rnosozooplankton community showed extremely hiか feeding rates compared to literature values from Southern Ocean summer communities. At the end of the experiment, massive phytoplankton sedimentation reached the sea floor at about 3800m water depth.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.457-472
• /
• 2011

To elucidate the trophic role of heterotrophic nano- and microplankton (HNMP), we investigated their biomass, community structure, and herbivory in three different water masses, namely, south of Polar Front (SPF), Polar Front Zone (PFZ), the Sub-Antarcitc Front (SAF) in the Drake Passage in the Southern Ocean, during the austral summer in 2002. We observed a spatial difference in the relative importance of the dominant HNMP community in these water masses. Ciliates accounted for 34.7% of the total biomass on an average in the SPF where the concentration of chlorophyll-a was low with the dominance of pico- and nanophytoplankton. Moreover, the importance of ciliates declined from the SPF to the SAF. In contrast, heterotrophic dinoflagellates (HDFs) were the most dominant grazers in the PFZ where the concentration of chlorophyll-a was high with the dominance of net phytoplankton. HNMP biomass ranged from 321.9 to 751.4 $mgCm^{-2}$ and was highest in the PFZ and lowest in the SPF. This result implies that the spatial dynamic of HNMP biomass and community was significantly influenced by the composition and concentration of phytoplankton as a food source. On an average, 75.6%, 94.5%, and 78.9% of the phytoplankton production were consumed by HNMP in the SPF, PFZ, and SAF, respectively. The proportion of phytoplankton grazed by HNMP was largely determined by the composition and biomass of HNMP, as well as the composition of phytoplankton. However, the herbivory of HNMP was one of the most important loss processes affecting the biomass and composition of phytoplankton particularly in the PFZ. Our results suggest that the bulk of the photosynthetically fixed carbon was likely reprocessed by HNMP rather than contributing to the vertical flux in Drake Passage during the austral summer in 2002.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.29-35
• /
• 2012

We investigated the interannual relationship between chlorophyll concentrations in the western North Pacific and tropical cyclones (TCs) in the western North Pacific by analyzing data collected for >12 years. Despite the short-term scale (2~3 weeks) in the contribution of tropical cyclones to phytoplankton, the current study revealed that the long-term chlorophyll variability in the western North Pacific is profoundly related to long-term variability in the frequency of TCs. It was also found that the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) tends to control such relationships between the 2 bio-physical systems. This result suggests a significant climatic relationship between TC activity and marine phytoplankton, and also suggests the possibility of more accurate estimations of primary production in the western North Pacific.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.359-365
• /
• 2002

The qualitative and quantitative composition of the phytoplankton of the coastal waters off Vladivostok during the period 1991-1994 was studied. The following trends in the phytoplankton composition with decreasing distance from the source of eutrophication were revealed: 1) total density and bio-mass increased; 2) the density of the diatom Skeletonema costatum, which reflects a decrease in the Shannon-Weaver species diversity index during the summer microalgal bloom, increased significantly; and 3) the density of the non-diatom component of the phytoplankton increased.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.1-20
• /
• 2000

There are increasing evidences of climate change in the Antarctic and Arctic Oceans, especially elevated temperature due to the continuous burning of the fossil fuels and ultraviolet B(UV-B) flux within the ozone hole. Light-dependent, temperature-sensitive, and fast-growing organisms respond to these physical and biogeochemical changes. Polar marine phytoplankton, which are pioneer endemic species and important carbon contributors in the polar waters, are therefore highly suitable biological indicators of such changes. By virtue of light requirement, the primary producers are exposed to extreme seasonal fluctuations in temperature, photosynthetically active radiation, and UV radiation. Local environmental warming and increased UV-B radiation during ozone depletion may have profound effects on the primary producers that are primary carbon producers in the polar water. Small changes in climate temperature and solar radiation may have profound effects on the activity threshold of the polar phytoplanktion. To demonstrate biological response to the environmental changes, standardized representative natural and biological parameters are needed so that replicate samples (including controls) can be taken over extended periods of time. In this paper, we review general characteristics of polar phytoplankton, their environment, environmental changes in the polar waters, the effects on the environmental changes to the polar phytoplankton, and the importance of the polar phytoplankton to understand the global environmental changes. [Biological indicators, Global environmental change, Polar phytoplankton, UV].

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.32 no.4
• /
• pp.397-409
• /
• 2010

Herein, we compared the production rate of UV-absorbing compounds (mycosporine-like amino acids) and carotenoids in two phytoplankton species--Phaeocystis pouchetii and Porosira glacialis--which are the dominant species in Polar Regions under artificial UV radiation conditions. P. pouchetii exposed to UVR and PAR evidenced reductions in the carbon fixation rate, and was not significantly influenced by differing light conditions. However, the concentrations of UV-absorbing compounds and photo-protective pigments of P. pouchetii were increased with increasing exposure time, but P. glacialis maintained constant levels during the UVR exposure experiment. The production rates of MAAs showed a reverse phase between the two phytoplankton species. The carbon fixation rate of P. pouchetii cells was inhibited by exposure to UV radiation, but the production rates of MAAs in P. pouchetii were increased under UV radiation exposure. The carbon fixation rate and production rate of MAAs in P. glacialis were simultaneously inhibited under UV radiation exposure conditions. These results provide us with new information regarding the processes involved in the production of UV-absorbing compounds and photoprotective pigments in two phytoplankton species.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.41 no.1
• /
• pp.1-10
• /
• 2019

Right after the 2007 Hebei Spirit Oil Spill phytoplankton ecosystems were investigated for 11 years based on the seasonal monitoring of the composition and abundance of phytoplankton species. Comparable time-series data from the 1989 Exxon Valdez or the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill sites were not available. It was suggested that the ecological healthiness of phytoplankton ecosystems at EVOS sites had recovered after 10 years following the oil spill based on chlorophyll concentrations even though these concentrations only represented phytoplankton communities in most cases. Chlorophyll concentrations can only reflect limited aspects of highly complex phytoplankton ecosystems. During the last 11 years following the 2017 HSOS, extreme variabilities were met in the seasonally averaged ratios of diatoms to phototrophic flagellates including dinoflagellates based on the microscopic cell countings. Summer phytoplankton communities exhibited some cyclic interannual changes in dominant groups every 2-4 years. During the early years (2008-2010) cryptophytes or raphidophytes (Chattonella spp.) dominated alternately each year, which was repeated again in 2014, 2015 and 2017. Two thecate dinoflagellates, Tripos fusus and Tripos furca, together accounted for 52.5% and 50.0% of all organisms in the summers of 2011 and 2012, respectively, which was repeated again in 2018. Summer occurrence and dominance by the phototrophic flagellates including HABs (Harmful Algal Blooms) species as well as their interannual variabilities in the oil spill sites could be utilized as markers for the stable and long-term management of healthy ecosystems. For this type of scientific ecosystem management monitoring of chlorophyll concentrations may sometimes be insufficient to gain a proper and comprehensive understanding of phytoplankton communities located in areas where oil spills have occurred and harmed the ecosystem.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.397-417
• /
• 2005

Phytoplankton community structure and distribution pattern in the surface water around the Ieodo Ocean Research Station were investigated during seven cruises carried out from July, 2003 to October, 2004. Samples were analyzed using various tools including a microscope, flow cytometer, and HPLC. Satellite images were used to analyze spatio-temporal phytoplankton biomass distribution. SeaWiFS chlorophyll a (chl a) images showed that spring blooms occurred in April-May near the Ieodo Station, and these waters were under the influence of Changjiang Dilute Water during July-October. Also, during the July-October period, HPLC pigments data showed increasing zeaxanthin concentrations, a marker pigment of cyanobacteria whereas increasing concentrations of various other pigments such as fucoxanthin, peridinin, prasinoxanthia alloxanthin, 19'-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin and chlorophyll b were noted during spring blooms. Such pigment marker data were consistent with picoplankton data analyzed by flow cytometer and nano-microplankton analyzed by microscope. The pigment-CHEMTAX method was used to drive the phytoplankton group apportioned chi a. Diatoms, chlorophytes, dinoflagellates, and cryptophytes comprised 25.8, 20.7, 15.9, and 14.1%, respectively, of the total chl a in May. Average cyanobacteria concentrations in July-October contributed 25.4% of the total concentration. This was the highest percent contribution and was followed by chlorophytes, diatoms, and prymnesiophytes. This study discusses results from various methods, similarities and differences in the results among those methods, and the application range of the results from different analytical methods. Also, the study reveals a detailed phytolpankton community structure in the waters around the Ieodo Station, and suggests future monitoring considerations in relation to cell morphology, ecology and diversity factors according to taxonomic groups.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.415-425
• /
• 2013

In order to understand phytoplankton and bacterial distribution in tropical coral reef ecosystems in relation to the mangrove community, their biomass and activities were measured in the sea waters of the Chuuk and the Kosrae lagoons located in Micronesia. Chlorophyll a and bacterial abundance showed maximal values in the seawater near the mangrove forests, and then steeply decreased as the distance increased from the mangrove forests, indicating that environmental conditions for these microorganisms changed greatly in lagoon waters. Together with chlorophyll a, abundance of Synechococcus and phototrophic picoeukaryotes and a variety of indicator pigments for dinoflagellates, diatoms, green algae and cryptophytes also showed similar spatial distribution patterns, suggesting that phytoplankton assemblages respond to the environmental gradient by changing community compositions. In addition, primary production and bacterial production were also highest in the bay surrounded by mangrove forest and lowest outside of the lagoon. These results suggest that mangrove waters play an important role in energy production and nutrient cycling in tropical coasts, undoubtedly receiving large inputs of organic matter from shore vegetation such as mangroves. However, the steep decrease of biomass and production of phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria within a short distance from the bay to the level of oligotrophic waters indicates that the effect of mangrove waters does not extend far away.