Ecological roles of nano-picoplankton in stratified waters of an embayment in the southern Benguela.

ABSTRACT: Nano-picoplankton are the dominant primary producers during the postupwelling period in St Helena Bay, South Africa. Their dynamics on short timescales are not well-understood and neither are the community composition, structure, and potential functionality of the surrounding microbiome. Samples were collected over five consecutive days in March 2018 from three depths (1, 25, and 50 m) at a single sampling station in St Helena Bay. There was clear depth-differentiation between the surface and depth in both diversity and function throughout the sampling period for the archaea, bacteria, and eukaryotes. Daily difference in eukaryote diversity, was more pronounced at 1 and 25 m with increased abundances of Syndiniales and Bacillariophyta. Surface waters were dominated by photosynthetic and ph

SUBMITTER: Dames NR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11643359 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature