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On the Role of Small Photosynthetic Flagellates in the Fall Phytoplankton Community of Onega Bay, White Sea

  • MARINE BIOLOGY
  • Published:
Oceanology Aims and scope

Abstract

The abundance, biomass, size structure of small photosynthetic flagellates (SPF; 3–10 µm), chlorophyll a (Chl a), and the contribution of SPF to the total phytoplankton biomass were studied in Onega Bay of the White Sea in September 2019. The Chl a concentration in the surface water layer of the bay varies from 0.36 to 0.83 mg/m3. The contribution of photosynthetic algae to the total phytoplankton biomass ranges from 79 to 83%. The abundance and biomass of SPF in the photic layer varies from 0.04 × 109 to 0.22 × 109 cells/m3 and from 0.64 to 6.4 mg C/m3, respectively. Flagellates with a cell size of 6–10 µm dominate in the total SPF biomass and their share averages 82%. The SPF contribution to the total phytoplankton biomass in Onega Bay varies from 6 to 58% and does not depend on the phase of the tidal cycle. The obtained data on the SPF abundance evidenced that this group of protists plays a significant role in phytoplankton communities, and their estimate results in higher values of the total phytoplankton biomass of the White Sea in the fall compared to data obtained earlier.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to the crew of the research vessel “Ecolog” for invaluable help in sampling and collecting materials for the study.

Funding

The work was carried out within the framework of the State Assignment of the Northern Water Problems Institute, Karelian Scientific Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Lomonosov Moscow State University (topic no. 121032300135-7, part 2) and the Development Program of the Interdisciplinary Scientific and Educational School of Lomonosov Moscow State University “The Future of the Planet and Global Environmental Changes.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

    T. A. Belevich & E. R. Nikishova

  2. Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

    T. A. Belevich

  3. Northern Water Problems Institute, Karelian Research Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Petrozavodsk, Russia

    A. V. Tolstikov & N. E. Galakhina

Authors
  1. T. A. Belevich
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  2. E. R. Nikishova
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  3. A. V. Tolstikov
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  4. N. E. Galakhina
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Correspondence to T. A. Belevich.

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Translated by D. Martynova

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Belevich, T.A., Nikishova, E.R., Tolstikov, A.V. et al. On the Role of Small Photosynthetic Flagellates in the Fall Phytoplankton Community of Onega Bay, White Sea. Oceanology 61, 944–953 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001437021060199

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001437021060199

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