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Phytoplankton production in the North Water Polynya: size-fractions and carbon fluxes, April to July 1998

2003; Inter-Research; Volume: 256; Linguagem: Inglês

10.3354/meps256013

1616-1599

Zhi-Ping Mei, Louis Legendre, Yves Gratton, Jean‐Éric Tremblay, Bernard Leblanc, Bert Klein, Michel Gosselin,

Marine Biology and Ecology Research

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 256:13-27 (2003) - doi:10.3354/meps256013 Phytoplankton production in the North Water Polynya: size-fractions and carbon fluxes, April to July 1998 Zhi-Ping Mei1,6,*, Louis Legendre1,2, Yves Gratton3, Jean-Éric Tremblay4, Bernard LeBlanc1, Bert Klein1, Michel Gosselin5 1GIROQ, Department of Biology, Laval University, Sainte-Foy, Québec G1K 7P4, Canada 2Laboratoire d¹Océanographie de Villefranche (LOV), BP 28, 06234 Villefranche-sur-Mer Cedex, France 3INRS-Eau, 2800 rue Einstein, Sainte-Foy, Québec G1K 4C7, Canada 4McGill University, Department of Biology, 1205 Dr. Penfield, Montreal, Québec H3A 1B1, Canada 5Institut des sciences de la mer (ISMER), Université du Québec à Rimouski, 310 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, Québec G5L 3A1, Canada 6Present address: Institut des sciences de la mer (ISMER), Université du Québec à Rimouski, 310 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, Québec G5L 3A1, Canada *Email: zhi-ping.mei@uqar.qc.ca ABSTRACT: In order to understand the mechanisms responsible for the high productivity and biogeochemical cycling of carbon in the North Water Polynya (NOW), we determined physical properties and nutrient concentrations of the upper water column, and phytoplankton production, during spring/summer (April to July) 1998. Phytoplankton production of total organic carbon (PTOC) was partitioned into production of dissolved and particulate organic carbon (PDOC and PPOC, respectively), the latter being further partitioned into production of large and small phytoplankton (PL and PS, respectively) using 5 µm as threshold. The highest PTOC was 6 gC m-2 d-1 at peak bloom. The fraction of PDOC in PTOC was lower in periods of high PTOC than those of low PTOC. Averaged over the whole polynya for the sampling period, PDOC and PPOC accounted for 34 and 66% of the fixed carbon, respectively, and 81 and 19% of PPOC were in the PL and PS fractions, respectively. Variations in the integrated assimilation numbers of large and small phytoplankton were mostly explained by nutrients and irradiance. Even though PPOC was dominated by large phytoplankton, the sinking rates of the phytoplankton cells were relatively low (0 to 0.7 m d-1), hence low export of PPOC to depth (17%), and relatively high potential transfer to large pelagic organisms through the herbivorous food web. This explains why the NOW is a major feeding and spawning area for fish, mammals and birds. KEY WORDS: Primary production · Phytoplankton biomass · Dissolved organic carbon · Particulate organic carbon · PBopt · Export · Biogeochemical cycling · North Water (NOW) Polynya Full text in pdf format PreviousNextExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 256. Online publication date: July 17, 2003 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2003 Inter-Research.