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Picoplankton: Contribution to Phytoplankton Production in the Strait of Messina *
Author(s) -
Magazzù Giuseppe,
Bruni Vivia,
Piccione Augusto,
Platt Trevor,
Irwin Brian,
Rao D. V. Subba
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
marine ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.668
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1439-0485
pISSN - 0173-9565
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0485.1987.tb00172.x
Subject(s) - picoplankton , phytoplankton , oceanography , chlorophyll a , biomass (ecology) , environmental science , biology , ecology , geology , botany , nutrient
. Biomass and primary production rates derived from photosynthesis‐light curves on picoplankton (< 1 um fraction) and total phytoplankton were compared for the Strait of Messina. Picoplankton biomass ranged between 0.063 and 0.094 mg Chi a m ‐5 and accounted for 56–63 % of the total. Total primary production rates were between 0.22 and 1.56 mg C‐m ‐2 ‐h ‐1 of which the picoplankton contribution ranged from 24 to 43%. In this turbulent nearshore environment, the contribution of picoplankton to total phytoplankton production is considerably less than in calmer open‐ocean waters. Carbon assimilation numbers (Pm b ), the initial slope (a) , adaptation parameter (I k ), optimal irradiance (I m ) and compensation intensity (L m ,) for the picoplankton were lower than for the > 1 μm fraction. Fitted respiration (Rm B ) for the picoplankton was, however, on the average higher (10.3 % of Pm B ) than for the > 1 μrn fraction (6.6 %). Assimilation numbers for the > 1 μm fraction in the southern stations were of higher magnitude (8.5–12.0 mg C mg Chi a ‐1 h ‐1 ) than in the northern station, possibly due to the impact of upwelled water flowing southward along the Sicilian coast.