Macromolecular production of phytoplankton in the northern Bering Sea, 2007

Abstract

Photosynthetic carbon allocations into different macromolecular classes provide important clues regarding physiological conditions of phytoplankton and the nutritional status of potential grazers. The productivity experiments for photosynthetic carbon allocations were conducted at three light depths (100, 30, and 1 %) for nine different stations in the northern Bering Sea as an important gateway into the western Arctic Ocean, using the C-13 isotope tracer technique to determine the major controlling factors and physiological conditions of phytoplankton. The photosynthetic carbon allocations into different macromolecular classes [Low molecular weight metabolites (LMWM), lipids, proteins, and polysaccharides] of primary producers were determined based on the productivity experiments. LMWM and polysaccharides had similar vertical patterns whereas lipids and proteins had reverse vertical patterns at all the stations, which is consistent with other results under different light depths. The overall average allocations were 37.9 (SD = +/- A 18.8 %), 26.6 (SD = +/- A 17.4 %), 26.5 (SD = +/- A 20.7 %), and 9.1 % (SD = +/- A 7.8 %), for LMWM, lipids, proteins, and polysaccharides, respectively. Based on a general pattern of macromolecular production in the northern Bering Sea, phytoplankton was in a physiologically transitional phase from an unlimited status to a nitrogen-deficient condition during our cruise period, 2007. However, more in situ field measurements for macromolecular production under a variety of environmental conditions will improve the understanding of the physiological responses of phytoplankton to the ongoing environmental changes in the Arctic Ocean.