Search results for "plank"

Benthic resources are the key to Daphnia middendorffiana survival in a high arctic pond

2011

Summary 1. Shallow arctic lakes and ponds have simple and short food webs, but large uncertainties remain about benthic–pelagic links in these systems. We tested whether organic matter of benthic origin supports zooplankton biomass in a pond in NE Greenland, using stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen in the pond itself and in a 13C-enrichment enclosure experiment. In the latter, we manipulated the carbon isotope signature of benthic algae to enhance its isotopic discrimination from other potential food sources for zooplankton. 2. The cladoceran Daphnia middendorffiana responded to the 13C-enrichment of benthic mats with progressively increasing δ13C values, suggesting benthic feed…

Iodine containing species in the remote marine boundary layer: A link to oceanic phytoplankton

2011

[1] Iodine containing species have been measured in the particle phase (PM2.5) and the gas phase during a ship campaign between January and February 2007 in the South Atlantic marine boundary layer (MBL). Methyl iodide (CH3I) in the gas phase and soluble iodine species, i.e. iodide, iodate and an unidentified organic iodine species (UOI), in PM2.5 were measured. Temporal variations of gaseous and particulate iodine species were investigated. The exposure of the sampled air masses to phytoplankton along the back-trajectories was studied using a lagrangian transport model and satellite observations of oceanic chlorophyll-a concentration. Significant correlations were found between the concent…

Biogenic methane in freshwater food webs

2010

SUMMARY 1. It has long been known that substantial amounts of methane are produced in anoxic lake sediments, and the components of the methane cycle in lakes have been well described. At oxic–anoxic interfaces, methane-oxidising bacteria (MOB) convert methane to microbial biomass and can be highly productive. However, only recently has methane been recognised as a potentially important carbon and energy source for lake food webs, and some instances have also been reported of methane contribution to river food webs. Stable isotope analysis (SIA) has provided compelling evidence in this respect and has been supplemented by other lines of evidence. 2. In the benthic food webs of lakes, profund…

Biogenic volatile organoiodine and organobromine hydrocarbons in the Atlantic Ocean from 42°N to 72°S

1997

During the cruise ANT X/1 and 2 of the research vessel Polarstern from November 1991 to March 1992, 39 surface water samples of the Atlantic Ocean from 42°N to 72.5°S were collected and analysed for their concentration of volatile iodinated and brominated hydrocarbons. The concentration of chlorophyll-a was used as an indicator for phytoplankton, which is one of the main producers of iodinated and brominated compounds in the ocean. For determination of chlorophyll-a, fluorescence spectroscopy was applied, whereas the measurement of halogenated volatile hydrocarbons was carried out by a purge and trap system with subsequent gas chromatographic separation and detection by an electron capture …

Variability in inorganic and organic nitrogen uptake associated with riverine nutrient input in the Gulf of Riga, Baltic Sea

2001

Concentrations and rates of uptake of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON, free amino acids, and urea) and inorganic nitrogen (DIN, nitrate, and ammonium) were measured along two transects in the Gulf of Riga, a sub-basin of the Baltic Sea, during May and July 1996. Concentrations of total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) were 23±3 μg-at N 1−1 in the northern region (mouth) and 41±5 μg-at N 1−1 in the southern region (head) of the Gulf. Rates of nitrogen uptake, determined with15N-labeled substrates, reflected differences in TDN concentration between the regions. In May, uptake of DIN+DON measured 0.17 and 0.43 μg-at N 1−1 h−1 in the northern and southern parts of the Gulf, respectively. In July, DIN+D…

Seasonal variation of average phytoplankton concentration in the Kattegat—a periodical point model

2003

Abstract Seasonal variations in primary production, phytoplankton biomass, chlorophyll-a, dissolved inorganic phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations in the upper 10 m of the Kattegat were analysed by means of monitoring data from 1993–1997. Spatial optimal analysis, based on a stochastic model, was used to reconstruct weekly constituent fields onto a spatial grid. The reconstructed fields were spatially integrated, resulting in a relatively smooth seasonal variability of the average variables. A simple dynamical model, set up as a periodical boundary problem, is suggested for the average phytoplankton concentration, dissolved inorganic nitrogen and entrainment depth as state variables. The …

Temperature, phosphorus and species composition will all influence phytoplankton production and content of polyunsaturated fatty acids

2023

Temperature increases driven by climate change are expected to decrease the availability of polyunsaturated fatty acids in lakes worldwide. Nevertheless, a comprehensive understanding of the joint effects of lake trophic status, nutrient dynamics and warming on the availability of these biomolecules is lacking. Here, we conducted a laboratory experiment to study how warming (18–23°C) interacts with phosphorus (0.65–2.58 μM) to affect phytoplankton growth and their production of polyunsaturated fatty acids. We included 10 species belonging to the groups diatoms, golden algae, cyanobacteria, green algae, cryptophytes and dinoflagellates. Our results show that both temperature and phosphorus w…

Climatic changes during Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene at Capo Rossello (Sicily, Italy): response from planktonic foraminifera

2004

Paleoenvironmental and climatic changes during the last 25 ky along a W-E transect across the Mediterranean Sea.

2012

Optical properties of Sicilian lakes during a Cyanophycea Planktothrix rubescens algal bloom

2009

In December 2006 blooms of Planktothrix rubescens were found in the reservoir Prizzi in Sicily. Planktothrix is a genus of filamentous alga comprising approximately 6 species, between these the P. rubescens is sadly famous since this organism produces microcystins which are powerful hepatotoxins. Firstly found in Europe in 1825 on Geneva lake, recently (2006) those algae has been find out in Pozzillo, Nicoletti e Ancipa reservoirs (Enna Province), as well as in Prizzi (Palermo Province) and Garcia reservoirs (Trapani Province). Toxins produced by those bacteria (usually called microcystine LR-1 and LR-2) are highly toxic since they can activate oncogenes cells causing cancer pathologies on …