Abstract
The phytoplankton population near Davis, Vestfold Hills, Antarctica was monitored throughout 1982. Chlorophyll-a determinations and counts of living cells in both the water column and sea ice demonstrated a marked seasonality in phytoplankton abundane and species composition. From April to October nanoplanktonic organisms contributed most of the chlorophyll-a in both the sea ice and water column. Blooms of diatoms occurred in May, November and December in the bottom of the sea-ice and in January and February in the water column. Phaeocystis pouchetii was dominant during December in the water column. Large numbers of dead diatoms were found in winter. The concentrations of nitrate, dissolved inorganic phosphate and dissolved silicate increased throughout the year until December, when the concentrations of nitrate and silicate fell sharply, followed a month later by a reduction in phosphate concentration. The diversity of phytoplankton was greatest during the summer months.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Allen, M. B., 1971. High Latitude Phytoplankton. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 2: 261–276.
Baker, A. de C., 1956. The circumpolar continuity of Antarctic plankton species. Discovery Rep. 27: 201–218.
Booth, B. C., J. Lewin & R. E. Norris, 1982. Nanoplankton species predominate in the sub-arctic Pacific in May and June 1978. Deep Sea Res. 29: 185–200.
Buck, K. R. & D. C. Garrison, 1983. Protists from the ice-edge region of the Weddell Sea. Deep Sea Res. 30: 1261–1277.
Buinitskii, V. K. H., 1977. Organic life in sea-ice. In M. J. Dunbar (ed.), Polar Oceans. Arctic Institute of North America, Calgary: 301–306.
Bunt, J. S., 1960. Introductory studies: Hydrology and plankton, Mawson, June 1956–February 1957. Aust. nat. antarct. Res. Exped. Rep. Series B, III, Publ. 56. Antarct. Div., Dept. External Affairs, Melbourne, 135 pp.
Bunt, J. S., 1963. Diatoms of Antarctic sea ice as agents of primary production. Nature 199: 1255–1257.
Bunt, J. S. & C. C. Lee, 1970. Seasonal primary production in Antarctic sea ice at McMurdo Sound in 1967. J. mar. Res. 28: 304–320.
Bunt, J. S. & E. J. F. Wood, 1963. Microalgae and Antarctic sea ice. Nature 199: 1254–1255.
El-Sayed, S. Z., 1968. Primary productivity and benthic marine algae of the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic. In V. C. Bushnell (ed.), Antarct. Map Folio Ser., 10. Am. geogrl. Soc. N.Y.: 1–6.
El-Sayed, S. Z. & E. F. Mandell, 1965. Primary production and standing crop of phytoplankton in the Weddell Sea and Drake Passage. Biology of the Antarctic seas II. Antarct. Res. Ser. 5: 87–106.
Fukuchi, M., 1980. Phytoplankton chlorophyll stocks in the Antarctic Ocean. J. oceanogr. Soc. Jap. 36: 73–84.
Grainger, E. H., 1977. The annual nutrient cycle in sea-ice. In M. J. Dunbar (ed.), Polar Oceans. Arctic Institute of North America, Calgary: 285–299.
Grasshoff, K., M. Ehrhardt & K. Kremling (eds), 1983. Methods of seawater analysis. Verlag Chemie, Weinheim: 419 pp.
Gruzov, E. N., 1977. Seasonal alterations in coastal communities in the Davis Sea. In G. A. Llano (ed.), Adaptations within Antarctic Ecosystems. Smithsonian Institution, Wash., D.C.: 263–278.
Hallegraeff, G. M., 1981. Seasonal study of phytoplankton pigments and species composition at a coastal station off Sydney: Importance of diatoms and the nanoplankton. Mar. Biol. 61: 107–118.
Hasle, G. R., 1969. An analysis of the phytoplankton of the Pacific Southern Ocean: Abundance, composition and distribution during the Brategg Expedition, 1947–1948. Hvaldrad Skr. 52: 1–168.
Holm-Hansen, O., S. Z. El-Sayed, G. A. Franceschini & R. L. Cuhel, 1977. Primary production and the factors controlling phytoplankton growth in the Southern Ocean. In G. A. Llano (ed.), Adaptations within Antarctic Ecosystems. Smithsonian Institution, Wash., D.C.: 11–50.
Horner, R. A., 1973. Biology and ecology of plankton and ice organisms in coastal waters near Barrow, Alaska. Prog. Rep. Off. nav. Res. Contract NOO 014–67-A-0317–0003: 1–39.
Horner, R. A., 1976. Sea-ice organisms. Oceanogr. mar. Biol. Annu. Rev. 14: 167–182.
Horner, R. A., 1977. History and recent advances in the study of ice biota. In M. J. Dunbar (ed.), Polar Oceans. Arctic Institute of North America, Calgary: 269–281.
Hoshiai, T., 1977. Seasonal changes of ice communities in the sea-ice near Syowa Station, Antarctica. In M. J. Dunbar (ed.), Polar Oceans, Arctic Institute of North America, Galgary: 307–317.
Kashkin, N. I., 1963. Data on the ecology of Phaeocystis pouchetii (Hariot) Lagerheim 1983 (Chrysophyceae) II Habit and specification of biogeographical characteristics. Okeanologia 3: 697–705.
Krebs, W. N., 1983. Ecology of neritic marine diatoms. Arthur Harbor, Antarctica. Micropaleontology, 29: 267–297.
Legendre, L., R. G. Ingram & M. Poulin, 1981. Physical control of phytoplankton production under sea-ice (Munitouuk Sound, Hudson Bay, Canada). Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sci. 38: 1385–1392.
Marchant, H. J., 1985. Choanoflagellates in the Antarctic marine food chain. In W. R. Siegfried, P. R. Condy & R. M. Laws (eds), Antarctic Nutrient Cycles and Food Webs. Springer-Verlag, Berlin: 271–276.
Marchant, H. J. & D. P. Thomas, 1983. Polylysine as an adhesive for the attachment of nanoplankton to substrates for electron microscopy. J. Microscopy 131: 127–129.
Martin, S., 1979. A field study of brine drainage and oil entrainment by first year sea ice. J. Glaciol. 22: 473–502.
McConville, M. J. & R. Wetherbee, 1983. The bottom-ice microalgal community from annual ice in the inshore waters of east Antarctica. J. Phycol. 19: 431–439.
Meguro, H., K. Fukushima, & K. Ito, 1967. Ice Flora (bottom type): A mechanism of primary production in polar seas and the growth of diatoms in sea-ice. Arctic 20: 114–133.
Palmisano, A. C. & C. W. Sullivan, 1983. Sea-ice microbial communities (SIMCO) 1. Distribution, abundance and primary production of ice microalgae in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica in 1980. Polar Biol. 2: 171–177.
Sieburth, J. McN., V. Smetacek & J. Lenz, 1978. Pelagic ecosystem structure: heterotrophic compartments of plankton and their relationship to plankton size fractions. Limnol. Oceanogr. 23: 1256–1263.
Silver, M. W., J. G. Mitchell & D. L. Ringo, 1980. Siliceous nanoplankton. II. Newly discovered cysts and abundant choanoflagellates from the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. Mar. Biol. 58: 211–217.
Sullivan, C. W., A. C. Palmisano, S. Kottmeier, S. McGrath Grossi & R. Moe, 1985. The influence of light on growth and development of the sea ice microbial community of McMurdo Sound. In W. R. Siegfreid, P. R. Condy & R. M. Laws (eds), Antarctic Nutrient Cycles and Food Webs. Springer-Verlag, Berlin: 78–83.
UNESCO, 1966. Determination of photosynthetic pigments in sea water. Report of SCAR-UNESCO Working Group (Paris). Monogr. oceanogr. Methodol. 7: 1–69.
Von Brockel, K., 1981. The importance of nanoplankton within the pelagic Antarctic ecosystem. Kieler Meeresforsch. 5: 61–67.
Whitfield, M. & D. Jagner (eds) 1981. Marine Electrochemistry, a Practical Introduction. J. Wiley & Sons, Chichester: 529 pp.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Perrin, R.A., Lu, P. & Marchant, H.J. Seasonal variation in marine phytoplankton and ice algae at a shallow antarctic coastal site. Hydrobiologia 146, 33–46 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00007575
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00007575