Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 15 January 1999:
Vol. 283. no. 5400, pp. 365 - 367
DOI: 10.1126/science.283.5400.365
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Phytoplankton Community Structure and the Drawdown of Nutrients and CO2 in the Southern Ocean

Kevin R. Arrigo, * Dale H. Robinson, Denise L. Worthen, Robert B. Dunbar, Giacomo R. DiTullio, Michael VanWoert, Michael P. Lizotte

Data from recent oceanographic cruises show that phytoplankton community structure in the Ross Sea is related to mixed layer depth. Diatoms dominate in highly stratified waters, whereas Phaeocystis antarctica assemblages dominate where waters are more deeply mixed. The drawdown of both carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrate per mole of phosphate and the rate of new production by diatoms are much lower than that measured for P. antarctica. Consequently, the capacity of the biological community to draw down atmospheric CO2 and transport it to the deep ocean could diminish dramatically if predicted increases in upper ocean stratification due to climate warming should occur.

K. R. Arrigo, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 971.0, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA. D. H. Robinson. Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies, San Francisco State University, 3150 Paradise Drive, Post Office Box 855, Tiburon, CA 94920-0855, USA. D. L. Worthen, Science Systems and Applications, Lanham, MD 20706, USA. R. B. Dunbar, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-2115, USA. G. R. DiTullio, University of Charleston, Grice Marine Laboratory, 205 Fort Johnson, Charleston, SC 29412, USA. M. VanWoert, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NESDIS, E/RA3 World Weather Building, 4700 Silver Hill Road, Washington, DC 20233-9910, USA. M. P. Lizotte, Department of Biology and Microbiology, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI 54901, USA.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Size-fractionated photosynthesis/irradiance relationships during Phaeocystis antarctica-dominated blooms in the Ross Sea, Antarctica.
A. R. Shields and W. O. Smith (2009)
J. Plankton Res. 31, 701-712
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Survival and recovery of Phaeocystis antarctica (Prymnesiophyceae) from prolonged darkness and freezing.
K. W Tang, W. O Smith Jr, A. R Shields, and D. T Elliott (2009)
Proc R Soc B 276, 81-90
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Trophic interactions within the Ross Sea continental shelf ecosystem.
W. O Smith Jr, D. G Ainley, and R. Cattaneo-Vietti (2007)
Phil Trans R Soc B 362, 95-111
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Marine phosphate oxygen isotopes and organic matter remineralization in the oceans.
A. S. Colman, R. E. Blake, D. M. Karl, M. L. Fogel, and K. K. Turekian (2005)
PNAS 102, 13023-13028
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Light rather than iron controls photosynthate production and allocation in Southern Ocean phytoplankton populations during austral autumn.
T. van Oijen, M. A. van Leeuwe, E. Granum, F. J. Weissing, R. G. J. Bellerby, W. W. C. Gieskes, and H. J. W. de Baar (2004)
J. Plankton Res. 26, 885-900
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Size-fractionated Primary Production in the South Atlantic and Atlantic Sectors of the Southern Ocean.
P. W. Froneman, R. K. Laubscher, and C. D. Mcquaid (2001)
J. Plankton Res. 23, 611-622
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The Contributions of Sea Ice Algae to Antarctic Marine Primary Production.
M. P. Lizotte (2001)
Integr. Comp. Biol. 41, 57-73
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)