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Winter presence of prochlorophytes in surface waters of the northwestern Mediterranean Sea
Author(s) -
Vaulot Daniel,
Partensky FrÉdÉric,
Neveux Jacques,
Mantoura R. Fauzi C.,
Llewellyn Carole A.
Publication year - 1990
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.1990.35.5.1156
Subject(s) - photic zone , synechococcus , oceanography , mediterranean sea , salinity , mediterranean climate , sea surface temperature , cyanobacteria , environmental science , surface water , seawater , phytoplankton , ecology , biology , geology , nutrient , paleontology , environmental engineering , bacteria
Cells with characteristics similar to the recently discovered oceanic prochlorophytes have been detected with ship‐board flow cytometry during winter in the surface waters of the northwestern Mediterranean Sea as well as in the low‐salinity dilution zone of the Rhône River. Maximum abundances reached 50,000 cells ml −1 at the surface and were only slightly lower than those observed previously at the bottom of the euphotic zone in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The concentration, light scatter, and pigment fluorescence of these cells correlated tightly with those of Synechococcus spp. cyanobacteria. These results point out that the ecological niches of oceanic prochlorophytes are probably more diverse than initially thought.