Plankton size structure is crucial for understanding marine ecosystem dynamics and the associated biogeochemical processes.A fixation step by acid Lugol’s solution has been commonly employed to preserve plankton samp...Plankton size structure is crucial for understanding marine ecosystem dynamics and the associated biogeochemical processes.A fixation step by acid Lugol’s solution has been commonly employed to preserve plankton samples in the field.However,the acid Lugol’s solution can bias the estimation of size structure and the preserved plankton size structure can vary with time.Here,we explore the impact of sample storage time on the size-structure of the plankton community preserved by Lugol’s solution.Two short-term experiments and one long-term experiment were conducted to explore the change of plankton community size structure with the storage time:covering from a week to a month,and to nearly seven months based on particle-size data obtained by continuous Flow Cytometer and Microscope(FlowCAM)measurements.We found a linear change of plankton size with the storage time in short-term periods(less than 3 months)with a decrease of the slope but an increase of the intercept for the normalized biomass size spectrum(NBS S).However,there were opposite trends for NBSS with increasing slope but decreasing intercept after3 months.The potential causes of the distinct patterns of the NBSS parameters are addressed in terms of the interplay between particle aggregation and fragmentation.We found large changes in plankton biovolume and abundance among different size classes,which may indicate a distinct effect of acid Lugol’s solution on various plankton size classes.The mechanism driving temporal change in the size-structure of the Lugolfixed plankton community was further discussed in terms of particle aggregation and fragmentation.Finally,we emphasize that the effect of storage time should be taken into account when interpreting or comparing data of plankton community acquired from samples with various storage durations.展开更多
Western Subarctic Gyre(WSG),which possesses distinctive differences in oceanographic and biogeochemical processes,is situated in the northwest subarctic Pacific.The WSG is characterized by high nutrient and low chloro...Western Subarctic Gyre(WSG),which possesses distinctive differences in oceanographic and biogeochemical processes,is situated in the northwest subarctic Pacific.The WSG is characterized by high nutrient and low chlorophyll.We carried out a field investigation in this area in summer 2020 and performed microscopic observation,cytometric counting,and RuBisCO large subunit(rbc L)gene analysis to understand the community structure and spatial distribution of chromophytic phytoplankton better.Microscopic method revealed that total phytoplankton(>10μm,including Bacillariophyta,Dinoflagellata,Ochrophyta,and Chlorophyta)abundances ranged(0.6×10^(3))-(167.4×10^(3))cells/L with an increasing trend from south to north.Dinoflagellates and Pennatae diatoms dominated the phytoplankton assemblages in the southern and northern stations,respectively.Major chromophytic phytoplankton groups derived from rbc L genes included Haptophyta,Ochrophyta,Bacillariophyta,as well as rarely occurring groups,such as Xanthophyta,Cyanobacteria,Dinoflagellata,Rhodophyta,and Cryptophyta.At the phylum level,Haptophyta was the most abundant phylum,accounting for approximately 30.80%of the total obtained operational taxonomic units in all samples.Ochrophyta and Bacillariophyta were the second and third most abundant phylum,and their relative abundance was 20.26% and 19.60%,respectively.Further,redundancy analysis showed that high proportion of diatoms(e.g.,microscopic and rbc L methods)was positively correlated with nutrients(e.g.,dissolved inorganic nitrogen(DIN),dissolved inorganic phosphorous,and dissolved silicate(DSi))and negatively correlated with temperature and salinity.The proportion of Ochrophyta,Rhodophyta,and Cyanobateria identified by rbc L genes was positively correlated with salinity and temperature and showed negative correlation to nutrients.This work is the first molecular study of phytoplankton accomplished in the WSG,and our results show some discrepancies between morphological observation and rbc L gene sequences,which highlight the necessity of combining the microscopic and molecular methods to reveal the diversity of phytoplankton in marine environment.展开更多
基金Supported by the Guangdong Province Special Support Plan for Leading Talents(No.2019TX05H216)the Key Special Project for Introduced Talents Team of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory(Guangzhou)(No.GML2019ZD0305)+1 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41906132)the Science and Technology Program of Guangzhou(No.202102021229)。
文摘Plankton size structure is crucial for understanding marine ecosystem dynamics and the associated biogeochemical processes.A fixation step by acid Lugol’s solution has been commonly employed to preserve plankton samples in the field.However,the acid Lugol’s solution can bias the estimation of size structure and the preserved plankton size structure can vary with time.Here,we explore the impact of sample storage time on the size-structure of the plankton community preserved by Lugol’s solution.Two short-term experiments and one long-term experiment were conducted to explore the change of plankton community size structure with the storage time:covering from a week to a month,and to nearly seven months based on particle-size data obtained by continuous Flow Cytometer and Microscope(FlowCAM)measurements.We found a linear change of plankton size with the storage time in short-term periods(less than 3 months)with a decrease of the slope but an increase of the intercept for the normalized biomass size spectrum(NBS S).However,there were opposite trends for NBSS with increasing slope but decreasing intercept after3 months.The potential causes of the distinct patterns of the NBSS parameters are addressed in terms of the interplay between particle aggregation and fragmentation.We found large changes in plankton biovolume and abundance among different size classes,which may indicate a distinct effect of acid Lugol’s solution on various plankton size classes.The mechanism driving temporal change in the size-structure of the Lugolfixed plankton community was further discussed in terms of particle aggregation and fragmentation.Finally,we emphasize that the effect of storage time should be taken into account when interpreting or comparing data of plankton community acquired from samples with various storage durations.
基金Supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2019YFD0901401)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.42176206,81900630)+2 种基金the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province(No.ZR2021MD071)the“One Hundred Talents”Project of Guangxi(No.6020303891251)the Outstanding Youth Project of Yunnan Provincial Department of Science and Technology(No.2019F1019)。
文摘Western Subarctic Gyre(WSG),which possesses distinctive differences in oceanographic and biogeochemical processes,is situated in the northwest subarctic Pacific.The WSG is characterized by high nutrient and low chlorophyll.We carried out a field investigation in this area in summer 2020 and performed microscopic observation,cytometric counting,and RuBisCO large subunit(rbc L)gene analysis to understand the community structure and spatial distribution of chromophytic phytoplankton better.Microscopic method revealed that total phytoplankton(>10μm,including Bacillariophyta,Dinoflagellata,Ochrophyta,and Chlorophyta)abundances ranged(0.6×10^(3))-(167.4×10^(3))cells/L with an increasing trend from south to north.Dinoflagellates and Pennatae diatoms dominated the phytoplankton assemblages in the southern and northern stations,respectively.Major chromophytic phytoplankton groups derived from rbc L genes included Haptophyta,Ochrophyta,Bacillariophyta,as well as rarely occurring groups,such as Xanthophyta,Cyanobacteria,Dinoflagellata,Rhodophyta,and Cryptophyta.At the phylum level,Haptophyta was the most abundant phylum,accounting for approximately 30.80%of the total obtained operational taxonomic units in all samples.Ochrophyta and Bacillariophyta were the second and third most abundant phylum,and their relative abundance was 20.26% and 19.60%,respectively.Further,redundancy analysis showed that high proportion of diatoms(e.g.,microscopic and rbc L methods)was positively correlated with nutrients(e.g.,dissolved inorganic nitrogen(DIN),dissolved inorganic phosphorous,and dissolved silicate(DSi))and negatively correlated with temperature and salinity.The proportion of Ochrophyta,Rhodophyta,and Cyanobateria identified by rbc L genes was positively correlated with salinity and temperature and showed negative correlation to nutrients.This work is the first molecular study of phytoplankton accomplished in the WSG,and our results show some discrepancies between morphological observation and rbc L gene sequences,which highlight the necessity of combining the microscopic and molecular methods to reveal the diversity of phytoplankton in marine environment.
