Contribution of dinoflagellates to Antarctic coastal zone carbon flux

Some scanning electron microscope images were taken of dinoflagellates sampled as part of this project.  A catalogue of the images taken is provided as part of the download file at the provided URL.  The images are currently held by the Electron Microscope Unit of the Australian Antarctic Division, but have not yet been entered into their electron microscope database (as at the 30th of April, 2004).
From the abstracts of the referenced paper:
The abundance and biomass of ciliates, dinoflagellates and heterotrophic and phototrophic nanoflagellates were determined at three sites along an ice-covered Antarctic fjord between January and November 1993.  The water column showed little in the way of temperature and salinity gradients during the study period.  In general, the protozooplankton exhibited a seasonal variation which closely mirrored that of chlorophyll a and bacterioplankton. The fjord mouth, which was affected by the greatest marine influences, consistently had the highest densities of ciliates and the most diverse community, with up to 18 species during the sampling period.  Small aloricate ciliates were present throughout the year with Strobilidium spp. being dominant during the winter.  Larger loricate and aloricate ciliates became more prominent during January and November, along with the autotrophic ciliate Mesodimium rubrun and two mixotrophic species (Strombidium wulffi and a type resembling Tontonia) suggesting evidence of species successions.  Data on dinoflagellates were less extensive, but these protists showed greatest species diversity in the middle reaches of the fjord.  A total of 13 species of dinoflagellate were recorded.
Ciliates made a significant contribution to the biomass of the microbial community in summer, particularly in the middle and at the seaward end of the fjord.  In winter, heterotrophic flagellates (HNAN) and phototrophic nanoflagellates (PNAN) were the dominant component of protistan biomass.  In terms of percentage contribution to the microbial carbon pool, bacteria dominated during winter and spring.  To the authors' knowledge, this is the first seasonal study of an Antarctic fjord.  The Ellis Fjord is very unproductive compared to lower latitude systems, and supports low biomass of phytoplankton and microbial plankton during most of the year.  This relates to severe climatic and seasonal conditions, and the lack of allochthonous carbon inputs to the system.  Thus, high latitude estuaries may differ significantly from lower latitude systems, which generally rank among the most productive aquatic systems in the world.
The fields in this dataset are:
EMU Image Number
Fiona Scott Image Number
Species
SEM Stub Number
Location
Collector

Tags: AMD, AMD/AU, ANTARCTIC, ANTARCTICA, BACTERIOPLANKTON, CEOS, CILIATES, DINOFLAGELLATES, EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > BACTERIA/ARCHAEA, EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > PLANTS > MICROALGAE > DINOFLAGELLATES, EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > PROTISTS, EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > PROTISTS > CILIATES, EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > PROTISTS > FLAGELLATES, EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > COMMUNITY DYNAMICS > COMMUNITY STRUCTURE, EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS > BIOMASS DYNAMICS, EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS > PLANKTON, EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS > PLANKTON > ZOOPLANKTON, EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS > WETLANDS > ESTUARINE WETLANDS, EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS > COASTAL, EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > VEGETATION > CHLOROPHYLL, EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > PIGMENTS > CHLOROPHYLL, ELLIS FJORD, FIELD SURVEYS, FJORD, GEOGRAPHIC REGION > POLAR, LOCATION, OCEAN > SOUTHERN OCEAN, PROTOZOOPLANKTON, SPECIED, VESTFOLD HILLS
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network