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PHYTOPLANKTON AND CIILOROPHYLL IN THE GERLACHE AND BRANSFIELD STRAITS OF ANTARCTICA 1
Author(s) -
Burkholder Paul R.,
Sieburth John M.
Publication year - 1961
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1961.6.1.0045
Subject(s) - phytoplankton , oceanography , plankton , chlorophyll a , peninsula , chlorophyll , environmental science , algae , biology , ecology , geology , botany , nutrient
Studies were made on the phytoplankton and chlorophyll a content of waters in the Gerlache and Bransfield Straits of Antarctica during December 1958 and January 1959. Rich communities of diatoms, such as Thalassiosira, Coscinodiscus, Eucampia, and Synedra, and the chrysophycean Phaeocystis were observed at numerous stations in the Gerlache Strait and the western part of Bransfield Strait. Dinoflagellates wore very scarce in this region. Antibiotic activity of the plankton was associated with Phaeocystis. The eastern area of Bransfield Strait, near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, was almost devoid of phytoplankton at all depths. Chlorophyll a determinations agreed in general with observations on the abundance of phytoplankton. Chlorophyll a ranged up to about 27 mg/m 3 of water, and the amount of pigment in surface waters was inversely related to total depth of the water.