Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

PC02 Optical Studies in Aquatic Ecosystems

Date: Tuesday, February 13, 2001

Location: Southwest Hall

Steinberg, D, K, Bermuda Biological Station for Research, Inc., St. Georges, Bermuda, debbie@bbsr.edu

Nelson, N, B, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, USA, norm@icess.ucsb.edu

Carlson, C, A, Bermuda Biological Station for Research, Inc. , St. Georges, Bermuda, ccarlson@bbsr.edu

ZOOPLANKTON PRODUCTION OF COLORED DISSOLVED ORGANIC MATTER (CDOM) IN THE OPEN OCEAN

Colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) has been identified as a major determinant of ocean optical properties. The factors controlling distribution of CDOM far from the direct influence of land are not well known as CDOM abundance and distribution does not directly correlate with phytoplankton productivity or biomass, or with dissolved organic matter (DOM) concentration. As part of a larger study of the dynamics of CDOM in the open ocean, we investigated direct release from plankton as a factor contributing to distribution patterns of CDOM. We measured the production of CDOM by zooplankton (e.g., copepods, euphausiids, salps, polychaetes) and by the colonial cyanobacterium Trichodesmium spp. at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site in the Sargasso Sea. CDOM was produced by all organisms examined, and absorption spectra varied by taxa, with some taxa exhibiting characteristic absorption peaks. We also investigated zooplankton produced CDOM as a source of labile carbon facilitating microbial growth. Results indicate that zooplankton excretia is a substrate for microbial growth and the microbial community is important in DOM-CDOM transformations.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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