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Microplankton succession in a SW Greenland tidewater glacial fjord influenced by coastal inflows and run-off from the Greenland Ice Sheet

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Abstract

Studies of annual successions and inter-annual variations in sub-Arctic and Arctic microplankton assemblages are required in order to understand the structure and function of marine ecosystems. This study depicts the microplankton (>20 μm) structure in a sub-Arctic tidewater glacial fjord system, SW Greenland. The descriptions are based on monthly net hauls collected between January 2006 and December 2010. Two blooms, with distinctive species compositions, were identified across all years: a spring bloom and a summer/autumn bloom. In addition, the winter season—with weak stratification, deep tidal mixing, and dense coastal inflows—was characterised by a separate species composition at much lower abundance. Here, the highest variety of microplankton groups was recorded and represented by diatoms (Chaetoceros spp. and Thalassiosira spp.), silicoflagellates, dinoflagellates, and ciliates. During the spring bloom, species correlated with higher light intensities, i.e. haptophytes and diatoms (Thalassiosira spp. and Fragilariopsis spp.), dominated the microplankton assemblage. Among these, diatoms were also correlated with cooler and fresher waters influenced by springtime melt. During the summer/autumn bloom, the microplankton assemblage was mainly represented by diatoms, such as Chaetoceros spp. ‘Low-saline’ chrysophytes were also present. The latter bloom coincides with elevated temperatures in the fjord and renewal of nutrients due to the onset of glacial meltwater run-off from the Greenland Ice Sheet. Our study shows a yearly recurrent succession of microplankton assemblages and that the annual succession is controlled primarily by ocean–fjord–glacier interactions.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to express their gratitude to Dr. Józef Wiktor for helping identify and classify diatoms, dinoflagellates, and ciliates. We wish to thank Dr. Teresa Radziejewska and Dr. Andrew Davidson for constructive comments and consultations. We also acknowledge Genowefa Daniszewska-Kowalczyk for technical assistance as well as Thomas Krogh, Louise Mølgaard, Ditte Marie Mikkelsen, and Morten Frederiksen for participating in fieldwork. We thank Martin Blicher for assisting with data analysis and interpretation. We thank the Polish Narodowe Centrum Nauki (NCN) in Krakow for financial support for the Greenland studies (Grant No. 2011/03/N/ST10/05794). The MarineBasic-Nuuk programme, part of the Greenland Ecosystem Monitoring Programme, was funded by the Danish Energy Agency as part of its climate support programme for the Arctic. Financial support was also received from the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, the Aage V. Jensen Charity Foundation, and the Canadian Excellence Research Chair (CERC) programme. This publication is a contribution to the MarineBasic-Nuuk programme, part of the Greenland Ecosystem Monitoring Programme, and to the Greenland Climate Research Centre. We wish to thank the Translation Centre at University of Copenhagen for language improvement. Finally, we appreciate the constructive critiques of the Editor and three anonymous reviewers, which improved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Diana W. Krawczyk.

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Krawczyk, D.W., Witkowski, A., Juul-Pedersen, T. et al. Microplankton succession in a SW Greenland tidewater glacial fjord influenced by coastal inflows and run-off from the Greenland Ice Sheet. Polar Biol 38, 1515–1533 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1715-y

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