Phytoplankton Surveys in the Arctic Fram Strait Demonstrate the Tiny Eukaryotic Alga Micromonas and Other Picoprasinophytes Contribute to Deep Sea Export.

ABSTRACT: Critical questions exist regarding the abundance and, especially, the export of picophytoplankton (≤2 µm diameter) in the Arctic. These organisms can dominate chlorophyll concentrations in Arctic regions, which are subject to rapid change. The picoeukaryotic prasinophyte Micromonas grows in polar environments and appears to constitute a large, but variable, proportion of the phytoplankton in these waters. Here, we analyze 81 samples from the upper 100 m of the water column from the Fram Strait collected over multiple years (2009−2015). We also analyze sediment trap samples to examine picophytoplankton contributions to export, using both 18S rRNA gene qPCR and V1-V2 16S rRNA Illumina amplicon sequencing to assess the Micromonas abundance within the broader diversity of photosynthetic eukary

SUBMITTER: Bachy C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9144618 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature