Nanoplanktonic diatoms are globally overlooked but play a role in spring blooms and carbon export.

ABSTRACT: Diatoms are one of the major primary producers in the ocean, responsible annually for ~20% of photosynthetically fixed CO₂ on Earth. In oceanic models, they are typically represented as large (>20 µm) microphytoplankton. However, many diatoms belong to the nanophytoplankton (2-20 µm) and a few species even overlap with the picoplanktonic size-class (<2 µm). Due to their minute size and difficulty of detection they are poorly characterized. Here we describe a massive spring bloom of the smallest known diatom (Minidiscus) in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Analysis of Tara Oceans data, together with literature review, reveal a general oversight of the significance of these small diatoms at the global scale. We further evidence that they can reach the seafloor at high sinking r

SUBMITTER: Leblanc K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5838239 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature