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A TRANSIENT BLOOM OF OSTREOCOCCUS (CHLOROPHYTA, PRASINOPHYCEAE) IN WEST NECK BAY, LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK
Author(s) -
O'Kelly Charles J.,
Sieracki Michael E.,
Thier Edward C.,
Hobson Ilana C.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of phycology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.85
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1529-8817
pISSN - 0022-3646
DOI - 10.1046/j.1529-8817.2003.02201.x
Subject(s) - biology , population , chlorophyta , bloom , botany , picoplankton , phytoplankton , bay , ecology , algae , oceanography , demography , sociology , nutrient , geology
The smallest known eukaryote, Ostreococcus tauri Courties et Chrétiennot‐Dinet, was first reported as the dominant picoplankter in a French lagoon known for its diverse phytoplankton community and high oyster productivity. Long‐term seasonal blooms of this picoeukaryote were observed in association with stable plankton communities. On 5 June 2001, a distinctive monotypic picoplankton bloom was detected by flow cytometry as part of an ongoing study of “brown tide” ( Aureococcus anophagefferens ) bloom initiation in Long Island bays. The bloom reached a concentration of 5 × 10 5 cells·mL −1 in West Neck Bay and lasted less than 2 weeks. Epifluorescence microscopy and TEM indicated that the bloom organism was an Ostreococcus ‐like picoalga, the first ever observed in a Long Island bay. Many cells of this alga contained numerous virus‐like particles. The Ostreococcus ‐like picoalga, which resembles O. tauri , was rare in samples collected the following week. Instead, a substantial increase in the Synechococcus population was observed. Such rapid population changes have not previously been reported for Ostreococcus . Viral lysis and grazing by heterotrophic nanoflagellates may have contributed to the rapid decline of the Ostreococcus ‐like cells in West Neck Bay.