Abstract
Microscopic observations of Lugol-preserved samples collected near a subsurface drogue during the spring bloom of 1981 in the central North Sea suggested that the phytoplankton crop consisted mainly of diatoms. However, the relative abundance of alloxanthin among the carotenoids measured by reversed-phase, high-performance liquid chromatography indicated that in most samples Cryptophyceae were at least as abundant. On the basis of a multiple regression analysis of pigment concentrations to obtain pigment ratios, the contribution of Cryptophycean chlorophyll to total chlorophyll was calculated. The Cryptophyceae:diatom ratio appeared to be variable during the period of observations, ranging between 0 at the beginning to 1.0 ten days later. It is recommended that the classical method of counting phytoplankton for crop estimates be supplemented by chemotaxonomical studies with modern quantitative chromatographic methods such as HPLC for the measurement of algal pigments.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Literature cited
Abaychi, J. K. and J. P. Riley: The determination of phytoplankton pigments by high-performance liquid chromatography. Anal. chim. Acta 107, 1–11 (1979)
Allen, M. B., L. Fries, T. W. Goodwin and T. M. Thomas: The carotenoids of algae. Pigments from some Cryptomonads, a heterokont and some Rhodophyta. J. gen. Microbiol. 34, 259–267 (1964)
Baars, M. A. and S. S. Oosterhuis: Diurnal rhythms in grazing on labeled food, gut fluorescence and digestive enzyme activities of North Sea copepods. ICES, C.M., L 17, 1–11 (1982)
Bakker, C.: Een protozo in symbiose met algen in het Veerse Meer. Levende Natuur 69, 180–187 (1966)
Chapman, D. J.: Three new carotenoids isolated from algae. Phytochem. 5, 1331–1333 (1966)
Foppen, F. H.: Tables for the identification of carotenoid pigments. Chromatogr. Rev. 14, 133–298 (1971)
Gassmann, G. and M. Gillbricht: Correlations between phytoplanktoa, organic detritus and carbon in North Sea waters during the Fladenground Experiment (FLEX'76). Helgoländer Meeresunters. 35, 253–262 (1982)
Gieskes, W. W. C. and G. W. Kraay: Primary productivity and phytoplankton pigment measurements in the northern North Sea during FLEX'76. “Meteor” Forsch-Ergebnisse A 22, 105–112 (1980)
Gieskes, W. W. C. and G. W. Kraay: Unknown chlorophyll a derivatives in the North Sea and the tropical Atlantic Ocean revealed by HPLC analysis. Limnol. Oceanogr. 28, 757–766 (1983)
Hager, A. and H. Stransky: Das Carotinoidmuster und die Verbreitung des lichtinduzierten Xanthophyllcyclus in verschiedenen Algenklassen. Arch. Mikrobiol. 73, 77–89 (1970)
Hagmeier, E.: Plankton-Aequivalente. Kieler Meeresf. 17, 32–47 (1961)
Hardy, A.: The open sea: its natural history. Part I: the world of plankton. London: Collins 1959
Haxo, F. T. and D. C. Fork: Photosynthetically active accessory pigments in Cryptomonads. Nature, Lond. 184, 1051–1052 (1959)
Herman, A. W. and K. L. Denman: Rapid underwater profiling of chlorophyll with an in situ fluorometer mounted on a ‘Batfish’ vehicle. Deep-Sea Res. 24, 385–397 (1977)
Hobro, R. and E. Willén: Phytoplankton countings. Intercalibration results and recommendations. Int. Rev. ges. Hydrobiol. 62, 805–811 (1977)
Holm-Hansen, O., C. J. Lorenzen, R. W. Holmes and J. D. H. Stricriand: Fluorometric determination of chlorophyll. J. Cons. int. Expior. Mer 30, 3–15 (1965)
Jeffrey, S. W.: Profiles of photosynthetic pigments in the ocean using thin-layer chromatography. Mar. Biol. 26, 101–110 (1974)
Jeffrey, S. W.: A report of green algal pigments in the central North Pacific Ocean. Mar. Biol. 37, 33–37 (1976)
Jeffrey, S. W. and M. Vesk: Further evidence for a membrane-bound endosymbiont within the dinoflagellate Peridinium foloaceum. J. Phycol. 12, 450–455 (1976)
Jensen, A. and E. Sakshaug: Studies on the phytoplankton ecology of the Trondheimfjord III. Chloroplast pigments in relation to abundance and physiological stage of the phytoplankton. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 11, 137–155 (1973)
Keeble, F. and F. W. Gamble: The origin and nature of the green cells of Convoluta roscoffensis. Q. J. microsc. Sci. 51, 167–219 (1907)
Mullin, M. M., P. R. Sloan and R. W. Eppley: Relationship between carbon content, cell volume, and area in phytoplankton. Limnol. Oceanogr. 11, 307–311 (1966)
Norgård, S., W. A. Svec, S. Liaanen-Jensen, A. Jensen and R. R. L. Guillard: Algal carotenoids and chemotaxonomy. Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 2, 7–9 (1974)
Parsons, T. R. and D. J. Blackbourn: Pigments of the ciliate Mesodinium rubrum (Lohmann). Neth. J. Sea Res. 4, 27–31 (1968)
Parsons, T. R., M. Takahashi and B. Hargrave: Biological oceanographic processes, 332 pp. Oxford: Pergamon Press 1977
Powers, P. B. A.: Cyclotrichium meunieri sp. nov. (Protozoa, ciliata): cause of redwater in the Gulf of Maine. Biol. Bull. mar. biol. Lab., Woods Hole 63, 74–80 (1932)
Radach, G., J. Trahms and A. Weber: The chlorophyll development at the Central Station during FLEX'76. Two data sets. Proc. ICES/JONSIS Workshop on JONSDAP'76. ICES, C.M., C3, 3–21 (1980)
Reid, P. C.: Large-scale changes in North Sea phytoplankton. Nature Lond. 257, 217–219 (1975)
Reid, P. C.: Continuous plankton records: changes in the composition and abundance of the phytoplankton of the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and North Sea, 1958–1975. Mar. Biol. 40, 337–339 (1977)
Riley, J. P. and T. R. S. Wilson: The pigments of some marine phytoplankton species. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 47, 351–362 (1967)
Robinson, A. L.: HPLC: the new king of analytical chemistry; Science, N.Y. 203, 1329–1332 (1979)
Ryther, J. H.: Occurrence of red water off Peru. Nature, Lond. 214, 1318–1319 (1967)
Smith, W. O. and R. T. Barber: A carbon budget for the autotrophic ciliate Mesodinium rubrum. J. Phycol. 15, 27–33 (1979)
Strathmann, R. R.: Estimating the organic carbon content of phytoplankton from cell volume or plasma volume. Limnol. Oceanogr. 12, 411–419 (1967)
Taylor, F. J. R., D. J. Blackbourn and J. Blackbourn. The redwater ciliate Mesodinium rubrum and its “incomplete symbionts’: a review including new ultrastructural observations. J. Fish. Res. Bd Can. 28, 391–407 (1971)
Tomas, R. N. and E. R. Cox: Observations on the symbionts of Peridinium balticum and its intracellular alga. I. Ultrastructure. J. Phycol. 9, 304–323 (1973)
Vesk, M. and S. W. Jeffrey: Effects of blue-green light on photosynthetic pigments and chloroplas structure in unicellular marine algae from six classes. J. Phycol. 13, 280–288 (1977)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by O. Kinne, Hamburg
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gieskes, W.W.C., Kraay, G.W. Dominance of Cryptophyceae during the phytoplankton spring bloom in the central North Sea detected by HPLC analysis of pigments. Mar. Biol. 75, 179–185 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00406000
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00406000