Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

CS28 Phytoplankton: Distributions in Space and Time

Date: Thursday, February 15, 2001, Time: 12:00:00 PM

Location: Dona Ana

Campbell, L, , Dept. Oceanography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA, lcampbell@ocean.tamu.edu

Carpenter, E, J, Marine Sciences Research Center, SUNY Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, USA, Edward.Carpenter@sunysb.edu

Capone, D, G, Dept. Biol. Sciences, Univ. Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA, capone@usc.edu

PHYTOPLANKTON COMMUNITY STRUCTURE IN THE SOUTHWESTERN PACIFIC: A COMPARISON OF DISTRIBUTIONS WITHIN AND OUTSIDE A TRICHODESMIUM BLOOM

Phytoplankton composition and community structure in the southwestern Pacific were examined at sea by flow cytometry and epifluorescence microscopy to explore the relationships among distributions of picophytoplankton populations and a variety of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria. The study area extended from New Zealand north to New Caledonia and east to 174 W 14 S. The track included a large bloom centered around New Caledonia (165 E 19 S). The Prochlorococcus: Synechococcus ratio provided a consistent index for highly oligotrophic conditions and characteristic community structure. Elevated abundances of Synechococcus coincided with Trichodesmium maxima. The distributions of a marine Synechocystis-like coccoid cyanobacterium (>2 um) and Trichodesmium, however, appeared to be mutually exclusive.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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