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Low diversity of a key phytoplankton group along the West Antarctic Peninsula

Publication ,  Journal Article
Brown, MS; Bowman, JS; Lin, Y; Feehan, CJ; Moreno, CM; Cassar, N; Marchetti, A; Schofield, OM
Published in: Limnology and Oceanography
June 1, 2021

The West Antarctic Peninsula (henceforth “Peninsula”) is experiencing rapid warming and melting that is impacting the regional marine food web. The primary phytoplankton groups along the Peninsula are diatoms and cryptophytes. Relative to diatoms, there has been little focus on regional cryptophytes, and thus our understanding of their diversity and ecology is limited, especially at the species level. This gap is important, as diatoms and cryptophytes play distinct roles in the regional marine food web and biogeochemistry. Here, we use a phylogenetic placement approach with 18S rRNA gene amplicon sequence variants to assess surface ocean cryptophyte diversity and its drivers at a high taxonomic resolution along the Peninsula. Data were collected over 5 years (2012–2016) during the regional research cruises of the Palmer Long-Term Ecological Research program. Our results indicate that there are two major cryptophyte taxa along the Peninsula, consisting of distinct Geminigera spp., which in aggregate always comprise nearly 100% of the cryptophyte community (indicating low taxa evenness). The primary taxon dominates the cryptophyte community across all samples/years, which span a broad range of oceanographic conditions. A shift in cryptophyte community composition between a lower (higher) primary (secondary) taxon percentage is associated with distinct oceanographic conditions, including lower (higher) temperature, salinity, nutrients, and cryptophyte relative abundance (phytoplankton biomass and diatom relative abundance). These results emphasize the need for a full characterization of the ecology of these two taxa, as it is predicted that cryptophytes will increase along the Peninsula given projections of continued regional environmental change.

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Published In

Limnology and Oceanography

DOI

EISSN

1939-5590

Publication Date

June 1, 2021

Volume

66

Issue

6

Start / End Page

2470 / 2480

Related Subject Headings

  • Marine Biology & Hydrobiology
  • 41 Environmental sciences
  • 37 Earth sciences
  • 31 Biological sciences
  • 06 Biological Sciences
  • 05 Environmental Sciences
  • 04 Earth Sciences
 

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Brown, M. S., Bowman, J. S., Lin, Y., Feehan, C. J., Moreno, C. M., Cassar, N., … Schofield, O. M. (2021). Low diversity of a key phytoplankton group along the West Antarctic Peninsula. Limnology and Oceanography, 66(6), 2470–2480. https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.11765
Brown, M. S., J. S. Bowman, Y. Lin, C. J. Feehan, C. M. Moreno, N. Cassar, A. Marchetti, and O. M. Schofield. “Low diversity of a key phytoplankton group along the West Antarctic Peninsula.” Limnology and Oceanography 66, no. 6 (June 1, 2021): 2470–80. https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.11765.
Brown MS, Bowman JS, Lin Y, Feehan CJ, Moreno CM, Cassar N, et al. Low diversity of a key phytoplankton group along the West Antarctic Peninsula. Limnology and Oceanography. 2021 Jun 1;66(6):2470–80.
Brown, M. S., et al. “Low diversity of a key phytoplankton group along the West Antarctic Peninsula.” Limnology and Oceanography, vol. 66, no. 6, June 2021, pp. 2470–80. Scopus, doi:10.1002/lno.11765.
Brown MS, Bowman JS, Lin Y, Feehan CJ, Moreno CM, Cassar N, Marchetti A, Schofield OM. Low diversity of a key phytoplankton group along the West Antarctic Peninsula. Limnology and Oceanography. 2021 Jun 1;66(6):2470–2480.
Journal cover image

Published In

Limnology and Oceanography

DOI

EISSN

1939-5590

Publication Date

June 1, 2021

Volume

66

Issue

6

Start / End Page

2470 / 2480

Related Subject Headings

  • Marine Biology & Hydrobiology
  • 41 Environmental sciences
  • 37 Earth sciences
  • 31 Biological sciences
  • 06 Biological Sciences
  • 05 Environmental Sciences
  • 04 Earth Sciences