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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Phytoplankton pigment and absorption characteristics along meridional transects in the Atlantic Ocean
Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, Volume 49, No. 4, Year 2002
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Description
Pigment patterns and associated absorption properties of phytoplankton were investigated in the euphotic zone along two meridional transects in the Atlantic Ocean, between the UK and the Falkland Islands, and between South Africa and the UK. Total chlorophyll a (TChla = MVChla + DVChla + chlorophyllide a) concentrations and the biomarker pigments for diatoms (fucoxanthin), nanoflagellates and cyanobacteria (zeaxanthin) appeared to have similar distribution patterns in the spring and in the autumn in the temperate NE Atlantic and the northern oligotrophic gyre. Divinyl chlorophyll a levels (prochlorophytes) were greater in spring at the deep chlorophyll maximum in the oligotrophic gyre, however. Marked seasonal differences were observed in the NW African upwelling region. TChla concentrations were twice as high in the upper mixed layer in the spring, with the community dominated by diatoms and prymnesiophytes (19′-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin). A layered structure was prevalent in the autumn where cyanobacteria, diatoms and prymnesiophytes were located in the upper water column and diatoms and mixed nanoflagellates at the sub-surface maximum. In the South Atlantic, the Benguela upwelling ecosystem and the Brazil-Falklands Current Confluence Zone (BFCCZ) were the most productive regions with the TChla levels being twice as high in the Benguela. Diatoms dominated the Benguela system, while nanoflagellates were the most ubiquitous group in the BFCCZ. Pigment concentrations were greater along the eastern boundary of the southern oligotrophic gyre and distributed at shallower depths. Deep chlorophyll maxima were a feature of the western boundary oligotrophic waters, and cyanobacteria tended to dominate the upper water column along both transects with a mixed group of nanoflagellates at the chlorophyll maximum. Absorption coefficients were estimated from spectra reconstructed from pigment data. Although absorption was greater in the productive areas, the TChla-specific coefficients were higher in oligotrophic regions. In communities that were dominated by diatoms or nanoflagellates, pigment absorption was generally uniform with depth and attenuating irradiance, with TChla being the major absorbing pigment at 440 nm and photosynthetic carotenoids (PSC) at 490 nm. Absorption by chlorophyll c and photoprotective carotenoids (PPC) was much lower. Populations where cyanobacteria were prevalent were characterized by high PPC absorption, particularly at 490 nm, throughout most of the euphotic zone. The data suggested that the effect of pigments on the variability of phytoplankton absorption was due primarily to the variations in absorption by PPC. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Barlow, Raymond G.
South Africa, Cape Town
Marine and Coastal Management
Aiken, James
United Kingdom, Plymouth
Plymouth Marine Laboratory
Holligan, Patrick M.
United Kingdom, Southampton
National Oceanography Centre Southampton
Cummings, Denise G.
United Kingdom, Plymouth
Plymouth Marine Laboratory
Maritorena, Stéphane
United States, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Barbara
Hooker, Stanford B.
United States, Greenbelt
Nasa Goddard Space Flight Center
Statistics
Citations: 6
Authors: 6
Affiliations: 5
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/S0967-0637(01)00081-4
ISSN:
09670637
Research Areas
Environmental
Study Locations
South Africa