Impacts of meltwater discharge from marine-terminating glaciers on the protist community in Inglefield Bredning, northwestern Greenland

To evaluate the effects of meltwater discharge from marine-terminating glaciers on a fjord protist community in northwestern Greenland during summer, we investigated the distribution, abundance and biomass of the protist community and their relationships with hydrographic parameters. In the standing...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine ecology. Progress series (Halstenbek) 2020-05, Vol.642, p.55-65
Main Authors: Matsuno, Kohei, Kanna, Naoya, Sugiyama, Shin, Yamaguchi, Atsushi, Yang, Eun Jin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abundance
Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll a
Ciliates
Diatoms
Dinoflagellata
Dinoflagellates
Discharge
Distribution
Fjords
Glaciers
Low temperature
Meltwater
Microorganisms
Mineral nutrients
Nutrients
Ocean circulation
Plankton
Primary production
Protists
Surface layers
Turbidity
Upwelling
Vertical distribution
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Summary:To evaluate the effects of meltwater discharge from marine-terminating glaciers on a fjord protist community in northwestern Greenland during summer, we investigated the distribution, abundance and biomass of the protist community and their relationships with hydrographic parameters. In the standing stock of protists, dinoflagellates (46.4%) and oligotrich ciliates (39.5%) were dominant throughout the study region. With respect to vertical distribution, oligo - trich ciliates were abundant in the surface layer, mainly due to suitable food conditions (abundance of diatom and nanoflagellates). Near glaciers, relatively high chlorophyll a (chl a) concentrations were found in the subsurface layers associated with the low-temperature, high-turbidity and slightly high nutrient levels, indicating that the nutrient inputs from the upwelling glacialmeltwater plume increased primary production. Large-sized Protoperidium spp. were found only at stations near glaciers where nutrients were abundant, and heterotrophic dinoflagellates showed strong relationships with nanoflagellates. These findings suggest that the upwelling associated with subglacialmeltwater discharge can stimulate nanoflagellate production, resulting in increases in ciliate and heterotrophic dinoflagellate production.
ISSN:0171-8630
1616-1599
DOI:10.3354/meps13324